Axe and knife confiscated
Axe and knife confiscatedPolice spokesperson's unit

The terrorist responsible for Thursday’s attack on a mall in the city of Ma’ale Adumim is in custody.

On Thursday evening, an ax-wielding terrorist attacked Tzvika Cohen at the entrance to a mall where Cohen worked as a security guard.  

On Sunday morning, Israeli police revealed that the man responsible for the attack, Saadi Ali Abu Hamad, had been arrested overnight during a raid in the Arab town of Eizariya just east of Jerusalem. 

The terrorist, a 21-year-old resident of Eizariya, linked himself to the attack during questioning by the Shin Bet internal security agency.

Cohen, a 48-year-old father of four, was severely wounded in the attack on Friday, and is still in critical condition.

Abu Hamad is believed to have entered Ma’ale Adumim legally with an Israeli-issued work permit.

Currently, Israel allows 84,000 Arabs from the Palestinian Authority to work in Israeli towns, including 26,000 in Judea and Samaria and 58,000 inside the Green Line. An additional 30,000 are believed to work inside the Green Line illegally.

Earlier this month Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) called for the government to issue an additional 100,000 work permits to PA Arabs, more than doubling the number allowed into Israeli towns.