Tel Aviv terrorist was son of senior Hamas operative

Hamas claimed the terrorist, who was shot dead at the scene, was part of its military wing

Israeli authorities confirmed Thursday that the Palestinian terrorist who perpetrated the shooting in Tel Aviv was 23-year-old Mutaz al-Khuwaja, the son of a Hamas operative.

Al-Khuwaja was killed at the scene by an off-duty officer as he charged police forces. He was a resident of the West Bank town of Ni’lin.

His father Sheikh Salah al-Khawaja, a senior operative of Gaza’s governing terror group Hamas, said he “was not informed of the plan by any official authority” but “heard on the news and saw pictures of my son.”

He and another one of his sons were arrested by Israeli security forces overnight. The family home was mapped and slated for demolition.

Mutaz al-Khuwaja was jailed in Israel twice on terrorism-related offenses and entered illegally from the West Bank on Thursday.

Hamas claimed that al-Khawaja was a member of its military wing. “We mourn the martyr Mutaz al-Khawaja, and we extoll his heroic operation, and we threaten the criminal occupation with more attacks,” the statement read.

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Source: i24news