Pool of blood at the scene of Jaffa stabbing spree
Pool of blood at the scene of Jaffa stabbing spreeTomer Neuberg/Flash 90

The Palestinian Authority's official TV station has praised the terrorist who murdered an American citizen and wounded 10 others in a stabbing spree in Jaffa, just a few hundred meters away from where US Vice President Joe Biden was attending an event at the time.

The attack Tuesday evening near Jaffa port was the third of a series of Arab terrorist attacks in Israel.

The 22-year-old terrorist - identified as Bashar Masalha from the PA city of Qalqilya - was eventually shot dead by police, after striking at three separate locations, following a brief chase. In video footage from the incident, the terrorist can be seen stabbing at motorists as he runs from police, before a second video shows him lying fatally wounded.

The US government condemned the attack, which claimed the life of 29-year-old US citizen and army veteran Taylor Force, as well as previous stabbing and shooting attacks in Petah Tikva and Jerusalem, while the Hamas terrorist group heaped praise on the attackers.

But Hamas was also joined by the "moderate" Palestinian Authority, whose official TV station reported on the attack in glowing terms.

The broadcasts were translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

In its reports on the Jaffa attack, PA-controlled Palestine TV repeatedly referred to he murderer as a "martyr," and in one report a newswoman refers to his attack on innocent civilians - including both Israelis and foreign tourists - as "a complex operation ...carried out by a martyr."

In both reports translated by MEMRI, the victims were all referred to as "Israelis" - despite many, including the fatality, being foreign nationals - or "settlers", despite the attack having taken place within the so-called "Green Line."