Tel Aviv – The Police and Shin Bet manhunt for the suspect in a Tel Aviv shooting attack moved beyond the Tel Aviv area on Wednesday, as Arara resident Nishat Milhem evaded security forces for the 6th straight day.
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Since the early morning hours on Wednesday, special police units and Shin Bet agents searched in towns and villages along the Green Line in the Wadi Ara and Triangle regions. They have also not ruled out the possibility that he has crossed over the Green Line into Palestinian Authority controlled territory.
The searches included the village of Baqa al-Gharbiyye, where relatives of Milhem live.
In the initial days of the search, security forces focused on North Tel Aviv, in particular the Ramat Aviv area, where Milhem’s cellphone was found on the day of the attack. Investigators believe he discarded the phone before going on the shooting rampage, in order to make it harder to track him afterwards.
On Wednesday Milhem’s brother Juadat was released from custody five days after he was arrested on suspicion of being an accomplice to the attack. On Wednesday, after he was released without condition, he repeated his calls for his brother to turn himself in, and apologized on behalf of the family.
“We aren’t connected to anything and we are very sorry about what happened,” he said, adding that it’s better if his brother turns himself in.
When asked if the arrests of him and several other family members and associates by the Shin Bet was done simply to pressure Milhem to turn himself in, he did not reply.
Also Wednesday, the Simta bar on Dizengoff opened for the first time since Friday afternoon, when manager Alon Bakal of Karmiel, 26, and Shimon Ruime of Ofakim, 30, were gunned down in the attack.
A third victim, taxi driver Ayman Shaaban of Lod, is believed Milhem to have been murdered by Milhem after the alleged shooter hailed his cab near the scene of the attack and had him drive him to an open area near the Glilot Interchange.
On Thursday, Milhem’s father Mohammed will appear for his second remand extension, two days after he was arrested on suspicion of being an accomplice.
In addition, earlier this week Milhem’s mother was questioned by investigators for 12 hours, it emerged on Wednesday. In a report on Ch. 2, she was quoted as saying that Shin Bet investigators told her the family home could be destroyed if they do not cooperate.
The Shin Bet would not comment on the reports, citing a gag order covering the investigation.
Ahmad Milhem, a distant relative of Nashat Milhem and a member of the Arara Local Council, told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday evening that “the family feels the stress” of the investigation.
“It is stupid to blame the parents. Could they have a system to hide him?” he said, adding that it is impossible to hide the kid in a house with the entire country searching for him.
Milhem said he understands that the police are doing everything to find the alleged attacker.
Mudar Yunis, head of the municipality of Arara, the alleged attacker’s hometown, told the Post that as of Wednesday there is no noticeable increased security presence in the town.