Muhammad Kamal al-Jabari, the Hamas terrorist who carried out a fatal shooting attack in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, was a terminally ill cancer patient on a suicide mission, a security source told Ynet on Sunday.
Jabari arrived at the settlement by car and opened fire, killing one Israeli and wounding four others. He was killed by the settlement’s security officer and an off-duty IDF officer. The macabre moments were caught on the security officer's dashcam.
The chase after Kiryat Arba shooter, Muhammad al-Jabari
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
"We rushed to the scene from home following a report about a shooting, another officer and me," Kiryat Arba’s security officer told Ynet.
"We arrived at the scene and there was already a shootout with the terrorist. I ran over the terrorist and neutralized him. Then, the off-duty officer ended the event and shot the terrorist dead."
The IDF suspects Jabari might have had collaborators who fled the scene.
Jabari, who used an M-16 rifle in the attack and also fired at a medic who arrived to tented to the casualties, is a member of the military wing of Hamas, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
Four days before the attack, the terrorist, who worked as an Islamic education teacher at an elementary school in Hebron, shared a Facebook post with verses from the Quran, including the verse, “Have you thought about entering heaven?"
Following the attack, Israeli security forces arrested Jabari’s brother in Hebron overnight.
"If my brother is a martyr, it is in response to the crimes of the occupation in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem," the attacker’s brother told Palestinian media.
Meanwhile, Palestinians in Hebron were seen setting off fireworks and handing out sweets to passing drivers as they cried pro-Hamas chants.