Druze citizens of Israel are known for their loyalty to the state, with nearly all of the community’s men serving in the military.
By World Israel News Staff
The Druze community is insisting that the perpetrator of a deadly stabbing attack, who hails from a Druze background, was mentally ill and not motivated by terror.
Yitro Shahin, 20, fatally stabbed an elderly man and wounded four other people at Haifa’s HaMifratz bus depot on Monday afternoon, with witnesses reporting that he screamed “Allahu Akbar” before attacking.
Shahin, who was born and raised in Germany but has family roots in the northern city of Shfar’am, was shot dead by security guards at the bus station.
The Shahin family told Hebrew-language media outlets that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, has numerous family members who serve in the IDF, including an uncle who is a disabled veteran, and that he was not motivated by Islamic ideology.
Druze citizens of Israel are known for their loyalty to the state, with nearly all of the community’s men serving in the military. They have faced historic and ongoing persecution from Muslims throughout the Middle East.
“The attacker was recognized by the National Insurance Institute as a mentally ill person and received a disability stipend. He was hospitalized several times in a mental health facility,” MK Hamed Amar, a Druze member of the Yisrael Beitenu party, told Ynet.
“There is no Druze terrorist, there has never been a Druze terrorist, and there will never be a Druze terrorist,” he continued.
“Such an act of terrorism is contrary to every moral and human value and certainly does not reflect the loyal spirit of the Druze community in Israel, which is a full partner in defending the state and its values,” Amar said in a separate media statement.
The victim of Shahin’s attack was identified as Hassan Dahamshah, an Arab-Israeli from Kfar Kanna.
Dahamshah’s family told Ynet that Shahin’s relatives had contacted them to ask for forgiveness.
Dr. Ahmad Karim, the victim’s nephew, said that the attacker should have been supervised more closely due to his mental issues.
“As a doctor, I can say that any person with [this level of] psychiatric illness should be in an appropriate setting, and not roaming around like this on a bus or train.”
Karim added that the family was still in shock from the incident, and that “it’s not easy to accept [the killing of their relative] and move on.”
However, Karim said, “we accept [the Shahin family’s] apology.”
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