Two U.S. officials blasted the Palestinian Authority’s leadership for failing to condemn terror, following a fatal stabbing attack that left a 31-year-old father of two dead, and two others injured.
Jason Greenblatt, the Trump administration’s Special Representative for International Negotiations, called the terror attack in the West Bank community of Adam “barbaric” and asked: “When will President Abbas and Palestinian leaders condemn the violence?”
The U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman wrote “my heartfelt prayers for all the families. All life is sacred, but premeditated murder cries out for condemnation. Not hearing it from Palestinian leadership.”
The attack occurred on Thursday at about 9 p.m. when 17-year-old Mohammad Tareq Yousef managed to climb over a security fence into the community of Adam. He encountered Yotam Ovadia and stabbed him repeatedly in the upper body, killing him. A second man who encountered Yousef was stabbed and is hospitalized in moderate condition.
Adam resident Assaf Raviv heard the scuffle. When he realized that it was a terror attack, he shot Yousef three times killing him. Raviv suffered minor injuries during the encounter, but was released from the hospital after a short stay.
The terror attack in Adam occurred a day after a Fatah official, Osama Qawassmeh, claimed that a stone that fell from the Western Wall onto the plaza below was a sign that Israel was planning to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque. Though the Israeli Antiquities Authority has not been able to determine what caused the large slab to fall, Qawassmeh said the incident was “dangerous sign of what was happening in the Al-Aqsa mosque and its surroundings,” referring to archaeological excavations in the area.
“We affirm that Al-Aqsa mosque and its surroundings, including what is beneath it, are purely Islamic,” added Qawassmeh. “The Jews have no right to it.”
On Friday, there were violent riots on the Temple Mount, as rioters threw rocks and fireworks at the police. Several rioters were lightly wounded, and several were arrested.
