The Honenu legal help group, representing the family of Rabbi Itamar Ben Gal, recently called on the General of the Central Command Nadav Padan to arrest all those who aided the terrorist responsible for the murder of Rabbi Ben Gal last year.
In a letter penned by Honenu attorney Chaim Bleicher on behalf of the Ben Gal family, Bleicher wrote “We appeal to the court to arrest and bring to justice all the collaborators associated with the terrorist. That includes the medical teams who treated him without reporting his [the terrorist’s] presence.”
Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal was stabbed to death at a bus stop in the Israeli city of Ariel in Samaria. The terrorist, Abd al-Hakim A’zi, was lightly wounded by IDF fire, but managed to escape from the scene. He managed to evade an IDF manhunt for 40 days before he was finally apprehended.
“As far as we know, indictments were filed for those assisting the terrorist after the act or providing shelter, as well as the terrorist’s father. Since the terrorist escaped and hid for 40 days, it is reasonable to assume that the terrorist has many accomplices who helped him,” the letter said.
“In addition, the terrorist was treated by a doctor named Yusuf al-‘Aut as well as the Al-Rahma and Rafadiya hospitals in Shechem [Nablus] without the medical team reporting the terrorist's presence to security forces. Pursuing the terrorist tied up a great deal of military and intelligence resources at the expense of security in other sectors. That is in addiction to the fact that the terrorist continued to be an immediate danger as long as was at large,” added Bleicher.
The family stresses that the indictment against the terrorist’s father also explicitly mentions that the terrorist’s aunt knew of the terrorist attack that he was planning and helped him escape. The Ben Bal family is also asking for her arrest and prosecution for her part in assisting the terrorist.
“The assistance to the terrorist in his escape... creates a state of immediate danger to the security of the state. It thus requires the allocation of many resources of security forces to the pursuit of the terrorist. Anyone who helps the terrorist actually takes an active part in terror, whoever it may be - [the terrorist's] wife, an aunt, a friend, a brother or a father.”
“Forty days of escaping a manhunt requires a broad organization of collaborators, and every single one of them should be brought to justice. We are at war with these terrorists, who benefit from a supportive environment, and only punishment and uncompromising deterrence against the growing tumor of terrorism will provide security and quiet,” Bleicher added.