The United Nations envoy to the Middle East said Saturday he was “appalled” by the killing of a Palestinian who injured an Israeli police officer in the West Bank.
On Friday afternoon, the Palestinian tried to get into the vehicle of an Israeli couple in the town of Huwara near Nablus, border police said. When he tried to force open the locked door, one of the occupants – an off-duty IDF officer – shot Ammar Mifleh and wounded him with his pistol.
The attacker, named Ammar Mifleh, then ran towards a nearby border police officer and stabbed him in the face, slightly injuring him. Footage released on social media then shows another border police officer attempting to arrest Ammar Mifleh after the stabbing, while two other Palestinians tried to free him.
The second officer managed to drag the attacker away, who then appeared to be gesturing to grab the officer’s automatic weapon. The officer then pulled a pistol from a holster and fired four shots at point-blank range at the Palestinian, who died instantly. Border police said the officer who was stabbed was evacuated for treatment, as was the officer who overpowered the attacker.
“Appalled by the killing today of a Palestinian, Ammar Mifleh, in a fight with an Israeli soldier near Huwara in the occupied West Bank,” UN Special Coordinator for the Peace Process Tor Wennesland said on Twitter. “My deepest condolences to his bereaved family. Such incidents must be fully and promptly investigated and those responsible held accountable,” he added.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon slammed Tor Wennesland’s statement, calling it a “total distortion of reality”. “This incident is a terrorist attack in which an Israeli police officer was stabbed in the face and another officer’s life was threatened. He then shot his attacker,” Emmanuel Nahshon said on Twitter. “This is NOT a ‘fight’ – this is a terrorist attack!” he added.
For his part, outgoing Secretary of Defense Benny Gantz praised the actions of the border policeman on Twitter. “I would like to congratulate the border police officer who neutralized the terrorist and acted with determination and professionalism. IDF soldiers and Border Police soldiers have full support to continue fighting terrorism and in the interests of maintaining the security of the citizens of Israel. “