Jordanian lawmaker Khalil Atieh on Saturday praised the Egyptian “martyr” who killed three IDF soldiers in a terrorist attack on June 3, Israeli media reported.
Speaking at the Arab Parliament in Cairo, Atieh requested that a Sura from the Koran be read in honor of Mohamed Salah Ibrahim, who last week shot dead Sgt. Lia Ben-Nun, 19, Staff Sgt. Uri Iluz, 20 and Staff Sgt. Ohad Dahan, 20, along the Sinai border.
“We congratulate Egypt, and its martyr Mohamed Salah,” said Atieh. “I request from this honorable council that we stand for a reading of al-fatiha, for the souls of the martyrs from the Arab and Muslim people who died a holy death for the sake of Palestine.”
The Arab Parliament is the representative body of the Arab League.
A preliminary investigation found that Ibrahim, who was killed during the attack, crossed the border through an emergency gate secured by plastic handcuffs.
Israel’s Army Radio reported that the Egyptian policeman had in his possession six magazines for his rifle, a Koran and a knife. The IDF believes that the presence of the Koran suggests that Ibrahim was motivated by Islamic religious extremism, the report said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi spoke on Tuesday in the wake of the attack.
El-Sisi extended his “deepest condolences” over the incident, and Netanyahu thanked the Egyptian leader for agreeing to a “thorough and joint investigation,” according to an Israeli readout of the call.
Last month, a Jordanian lawmaker was charged in Amman for attempting to smuggle weapons into Judea and Samaria via the Allenby Bridge border crossing.
Israeli authorities arrested Imad al-Adwan on April 22 after finding 12 rifles and 194 pistols in his vehicle.
