Har Adar security remains high amid nearby rioting
Arab laborers are still barred from Jewish settlement as probe of terrorist attack continues
Five days after a Border Police officer and two security guards were murdered in Har Adar by an Arab terrorist who once worked there as a cleaner, Palestinian day laborers continue to be barred from the Jewish settlement amid ongoing rioting in adjacent Arab villages.
Since Tuesday morning’s murders, carried out by Nimr Mahmoud Ahmad al-Jamal, 37, from the neighboring Arab village of Beit Surik, some 200 Palestinian laborers authorized to work in the settlement, that abuts the Green Line just outside of Jerusalem, have been denied entry.
Border Police Officer St.-Sgt. Solomon Gavriya, 20 of Be’er Yaakov; Youssef Othman, 24, of Abu Gosh; and Or Arish, 25, of Har Adar, were shot to death during the first terrorist attack in the 31-year history of the settlement.
Jamal, a father of four, was killed in the exchange.
Following the murders, 15 Palestinians, including Jamal’s father and two brothers, were arrested as possible accomplices. Police and IDF units also set up checkpoints at the adjacent Arab villages of Biddu and Beit Surik, where nightly riots have since ensued.
On Sunday, police said Palestinian workers will remain barred from Har Adar as security assessments continue to be made, and the rioting continues. According to police, at least three arrests have been made in Biddu following clashes with officers and IDF troops.
“Operations are continuing in Biddu and Beit Surik, where disturbances and rioting with rocks and petrol bombs have taken place each night since last week’s terrorist attack,” said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.
“Police and Border Police undercover operations will continue to respond to riots in Palestinian villages and ensure the residents of Har Adar remain safe at all times,” he added, noting that heightened security will remain in effect throughout Sukkot.