Palestinian Teen Who Murdered 13-Year-Old Jewish Girl Hoped To Die a Martyr
JERUSALEM — The teenage Palestinian attacker who killed a 13-year-old Israeli girl in her bed while she was asleep wanted to die a martyr, according to months of Facebook posts.
Muhammad Nasser Tarayrah, 17, of the village of Bani Naim, adjacent to Kiryat Arba where he perpetrated Thursday’s attack, repeatedly posted about his wish to die and his admiration of martyrdom for the Palestinian cause.
In a more recent post, on June 25, he wrote: “Death is a right and I demand my right,” according to reports.
#US official says 13-year-old girl stabbed to death by #Palestinian attacker in #WestBank was an American citizen.
— Matt Lee (@APDiploWriter) June 30, 2016
Tarayrah was traumatized by the death of his friend and cousin Yousef Walid Tarayrah, according to The Times of Israel. The cousin, 18, was killed by Israeli soldiers near Kiryat Arba in March as he attempted to run them over in the car he was driving. Tarayrah posted photos and statements mourning his cousin’s death through the beginning of June.
He also posted photos of a Palestinian woman who rammed an Israeli car in a suspected attack near Kiryat Arba on June 24, calling her a “woman of valor,” The Times of Israel reported.
Fatah, which controls the Palestinian Authority and is the party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, praised Tarayrah. Its official Facebook page immediately posted his picture, declaring him a martyr, or “Shahid,” the highest honor achievable in Islam, Palestinian Media Watch reported.
Tarayrah’s mother told a local Hebron news network that her son was “a hero” who made her “proud,” according to Palestinian Media Watch.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
