A Palestinian affiliated with the Islamic State confessed to the 2019 murder of Jerusalem couple Yehuda and Tamar Kadouri, Israel Police and the Shin Bet internal security agency revealed on Thursday.
Wassim Assayed, a 34-year-old Palestinian from Hebron, is the suspect in the January 13, 2019 fatal stabbing of Yehuda, 71, and Tamar, 68, in their apartment in Jerusalem’s Armon Hanatziv neighborhood.
He is also the suspect in the murder of Ivan Tarnowski, a 37-year-old Moldovan national who was stabbed along with another Moldovan national on March 21, 2022 in the Arnona neighborhood of Jerusalem.
Assayed is also credited with a stabbing attempt of a girl in Jerusalem prior to the murder of the Kadouris.
In the coming days, an indictment will be filed against Assayed by the State Attorney's Office.
Assayed was arrested by Border Police in around Jerusalem hours after the murder of Tarnowski while trying to cross the separation barrier into the West Bank. A knife was seized on his person.
He was transferred into the hand of the Shin Bet for questioning on suspicion of being a member of the Islamic State and a host of terrorist activities.
Police raided his home and uncovered Islamic State material, and a backpack identical to that seen in footage from the crime scene.
Another clue was a shoe of the brand Nebil, which is only made in Hebron, that was found in the backpack. It was identical to the footprints found under Yehuda Kadouri's body. Traces of Kadouri's DNA were also found on the show.
During his interrogation, Assayed admitted to the murder of the Kadouris and the attempted murder of the girl a day prior. The interrogation also revealed that his activity stemmed from his support for the ideology of the Islamic State, to which he swore allegiance.
A timeline of Assayed's rampage:
January 9th, 2019 — Wassim Assayed attempts to murder Hadar Betzalel, 15 at the time, in Armon Hanatziv.
January 10th, 2019 — Assayed stabs and murders the Kadouris in their home. The terrorist saw Yehuda Kadouri leaving his home and entered to find Tamar Kadouri alone. After stabbing her to death, he waited for the husband to return and managed to kill Yehuda despite his attempts to fight off the armed man.
January 11th, 2019 — The terrorist flees the Kadouri home after staying the night.
January 12th, 2019 — Assayed is arrested for affiliation with the Islamic State. Police are still unaware of his involvement in the murder of the Kadouris.
January 13th, 2019 — The bodies of the Kadouris are found in their home.
March 21st, 2022 — Assayed murders Moldovan national Ivan Tarnowski.