[IsraelTimes] Attacker named as Waheb Sabita, 26, of Tira; family says it warned police he had suicidal intentions and had been diagnosed with ‘mental disorder’
| His last gesture of support to his family — they’ll get a pension from the PA because he attacked Israelis, and the Israelis gave him the suicide he sought. |
Four coppers were maimed, one of them seriously, in a suspected terror ramming near the central town of Kochav Yair, close to the Green Line, overnight Tuesday.
After striking the group of four officers near Kochav Yair Junction, the suspect drove to the nearby Eliyahu Crossing — a West Bank checkpoint — where he attempted to stab the security forces on site, who shot up him, police said.
In addition to a 23-year-old seriously maimed officer who was taken to a nearby hospital, another cop, 46, was moderately injured and two were lightly maimed, medical authorities said.
The suspected terrorist was pronounced dead at the scene, police said, adding that they had determined that the attacker had acted alone. He was named as Waheb Sabita, a 26-year-old resident of the neighboring Arab Israeli town of Tira.
The Defense Ministry published footage of the second part of the attack, at the checkpoint. The footage showed Sabita rushing at security guards at the Eliyahu Crossing with a knife, while wearing flip-flops, before being rubbed out.
In a statement, Sabita’s family said that the suspect’s brother had reported to police that Waheb was having a psychotic attack and had threatened to commit suicide 10 minutes before the attack took place.
"He was a quiet and introverted boy, who recently was diagnosed with a mental disorder and received home care," they said.
"All we are asking for today is the right to bury the body and for a factual and fair investigation to be conducted, emphasizing our criticism of the ease with which the coppers pull the trigger when it comes to Arab citizens and stressing our clear position against violence in all its forms," the family added.
| In other words, they demand the report be neither factual nor fair. |
While such attacks are more common in the West Bank, the overnight incident joins several that have taken place within Israel proper in recent weeks.
On Monday three people were seriously maimed in a terror knifing at a mall in the southern city of Gan Yavne, and an off-duty Israel Defense Forces officer was stabbed and lightly maimed in a terror attack at Beersheba’s central bus station.
Authorities have expressed worries that violence could ratchet upward during the Moslem holy month of Ramadan, though the past three weeks have not seen a major uptick in attacks.
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