West Bank Town Names Street After East Jerusalem Killer
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The hometown of a Palestinian who stabbed and murdered two Israelis in Jerusalem is naming a street in his honor.
The municipality of Surda-Abu Qash in the northern West Bank announced it will name a street for Muhannad Halabi, Palestinian Media Watch reported, citing an article by Donia Al-Watan, a Palestinian news agency.
Halabi, a 19-year-old law student, was shot dead on Oct. 3 after stabbing Rabbi Nehemiah Lavi and Aharon Bennett, and injuring Bennett’s wife Adele and their 2-year-old son in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem. The street naming was just one of several honors, including an honorary law degree from the Palestinian Authority Bar Association, posthumously awarded to Halabi.
“This is the least we can do for Martyr Halabi,” Surda-Abu Qash Mayor Muhammad Hussein said, according to PMW, adding that Halabi “is a pride and badge of honor for the whole village.”
A Palestinian family in Gaza honored Halabi by naming their newborn son for him, and in a related incident, a newborn in Gaza has been named “Knife of Jerusalem,” according to PMW, in an apparent salute to Palestinian stabbing attacks on Jewish victims. The media watch website cited an Oct. 23 post on the official Fatah Facebook page. Fatah is the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority.
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