Jerusalem – IDF Identifies Terrorists Responsible For Tel Aviv Terror Attack; Policeman Mistakenly Invited Suspect Into His Home

Jerusalem – Twenty-one-year-old cousins Mohammad and Khaled Mahmara have been identified by IDF authorities as the terrorists responsible for the heinous terrorist attack in Sarona Market in Tel Aviv which killed four people and injured another 16. Both terrorists are residents of Yatta, a town situated south of Hebron, YNet News reports (http://bit.ly/1XIcUmc).

In the wake of the attack, a raid was executed on their houses and their family members were questioned by IDF forces, who also measured one of the homes for demolition. According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, another seven people were also arrested in the West Bank on suspicion of being involved in terroristic activities. Those individuals were sent for additional interrogation.

Taleb Mahmara, the terrorists’ uncle, has his own history as a terrorist, having fought for the Tanzim terror group where he took part in a 2002 shooting of four Israelis in the south of Hebron. Taleb was apprehended and is currently in prison.

Palestinian security forces said one of the terrorists is a known Hamas member, while the other is not affiliated with any group, a claim supported by one of the terrorist’s fathers, Ahmad Mussa Mahmara, who said, “We didn’t expect this. My son is young and has been in Jordan for the past four years, and just came here for the past five months. He does not have any political affiliation.”

Meanwhile, a strange story has emerged about a Tel Aviv police officer who responded to the attack, and unknowingly let one of the terrorists into his apartment.

Several Israeli media outlets are reporting, that the unidentified officer was with his wife at Tel Aviv’s Cinematheque when they heard the gunshots coming from Sarona. The officer responded to the shots, and soon after returned with his wife to their apartment building.

One of the people gathered outside the building was a man who was “very confused and scared” who repeatedly requested water. The officer allowed the man upstairs into his apartment where he gave him water and left him with his wife and in-laws while he returned to help his fellow officers look for the other terrorist.

It was only after the second terrorist was arrested that the officer saw he was dressed in the same outfit as the man he had just left in his apartment. He raced back to his apartment and subdued the terrorist. Adding to the chaos, one of his fellow officers who responded to the scene at the apartment accidentally shot off a stray bullet from his gun while trying to re-holster it, injuring the officer who had inadvertently invited the terrorist into his home.