By James Marlow
Condemnation across much of the political spectrum has been swift after Tuesday’s deadly terror attack in which 35-year-old Rabbi Raziel Shevach was murdered in a drive-by shooting on Route 60. The victim was shot multiple times in his neck and upper body and was pronounced dead by the time he reached Meir Medical Centre in Kfar Saba.
Rabbi Shevach was a well-known respected figure in his community of Havat Gilad. He was also a mohel and a Magen David Adom volunteer. He leaves behind a wife and six children.
Hamas praised the attack saying, “We bless the heroic Nablus operation which comes as a result of the Zionist occupation’s violations and crimes at the expense of our people in the West Bank and Jerusalem.”
On Wednesday US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman wrote on his Twitter account: “An Israeli father of six was killed last night in cold blood by Palestinian terrorists. Hamas praises the killers and PA laws will provide them financial rewards. Look no further to why there is no peace. Praying for the bereaved Shevach family.”
Tuesday’s attack comes after a proposed bill by the Defence Ministry was issued which would prevent the transfer of funds to terrorists and their families by the Palestinian Authority. If passed, the bill would allow the Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman to present the sum given to terrorists before the Security Cabinet at the end of every calendar year and that amount would then be deducted from Israel’s payments to the PA.
The Jerusalem Post issued a list of salaries that terrorists receive when sentenced to between three to twenty years. In total the PA led by Mahmoud Abbas paid terrorists and their families over £260 million in 2017 and this is according to their own its own records which the PA are happy to promote. Therefore, based on these figures, the average income of a Palestinian terrorist is more than £350 per month.
In other words, the PA is and been sending the message since the nineties to those who wish to kill Israelis, the more severe the crime, the higher salary you and your families will receive.
In Israel, a “terrorist” is defined as anyone who deliberately attacks another person for nationalist or religious reasons whether by shooting, knifing, vehicle ramming or of course the old fashion suicide bombers and their teams whether they be drivers or decoys.
In the bill proposed by the Defence Ministry a “terrorist” will be defined as anyone who committed a security offence, whether or not he or she was convicted by a court or is still living.