Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Friday that anyone who aided and abetted the Palestinian gunman who went on a shooting spree in Tel Aviv the night before will pay a heavy price.
"Someone aided the terrorist in organizing [the attack] and obtaining the ammunition. Every murderer must know that we will get them, anyone who aids terrorists should know that the price they will pay will be unbearable," he said in a televised address to the public alongside Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Public Security Minister Omer Barlev.
Ra’ad Hazem, a 28-year-old Palestinian from the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, arrived at a bar in the coastal financial hub and opened fire at a crowd of customers, killing two of them and wounding several others. He was ultimately eliminated by Israeli security forces after an hours-long manhunt.
Hazem was staying in Israel illegally after being denied an entry permit under security considerations due to his affiliation with the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.
Hazem's father, Fathi — a key figure in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement in Jenin and a former officer in the Palestinian security forces — praised his son's actions in a video that circulated online Friday morning.
"[Palestinians] will see victory with the help of Allah, you will get liberty and independence. I pray that Allah would free al-Aqsa from the sullied occupiers," said Fathi Hazem.
Bennett condemned both the attack and Fathi senior's revelry over his son's actions and said that Israeli forces will stay on maximum alert.
"I watched the terrorist's father incite further violence and take pride in the actions of his murderer son, we've all seen the celebrations in Jenin," he said. "They wish to break our spirit and our grip over the land but they will not succeed. We will never break. The attack in Tel Aviv is over but will not let our guard down within Tel Aviv and the rest of the country."
He also stated that "we grant full freedom of action to the IDF, the Shin Bet and all security forces in order to eradicate terrorism. There are and won't be any restrictions to this war."
Bennett also extended his condolences to the families of the two victims — Tomer Morad and Eitam Magini, both 27-year-old students at Tel Aviv University — and wished a speedy recovery to those wounded in the attack.
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Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Bennett and Public Security Minister Omer Barlev
(Photo: GPO)
Taking the rostrum after the prime minister, Gantz said that Israel would mobilize "all the required defensive and offensive systems" to stem the recent spate of Islamist terror attacks.
"We're in the midst of challenging times, facing a series of terrorist acts within the country," he said.
"The State of Israel is the most powerful nation in the region. Our enemies know it and feel it. The IDF and the rest of the security forces will keep employing all their intelligence capabilities as well as all the required defensive and offensive systems to stem this wave and exact a heavy toll on its perpetrators."