Terrorist’s mother: He destroyed himself

The Israeli mother of terrorist Abed al-Karim Adel Asi, 19, of Jaffa, painted a grim picture of the killer on Tuesday. She condemned his actions and called on him to turn himself in.

Asi stabbed and killed Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal Monday as he was waiting for a ride outside of Ariel. Asi escaped after being hit by a car driven by an IDF officer passing by.

During a meeting with journalists at her home in Haifa given on the condition of anonymity, Asi’s mother said her son spent his youth at facilities for troubled teens and never managed to stay in one institution for longer than a few months, Ynet reported.

“He has no right to hurt anyone, and I condemn what he has done and call on him to turn himself in,” the mother told Ynet. “He destroyed everything.”

According to multiple reports, Asi, whose father is Palestinian, was known to local welfare services for years.

The IDF told The Jerusalem Post that “troops are continuing in their search for the killer of Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal.”

According to official Palestinian News Agency Wafa, IDF troops blocked the Huwwara checkpoint, south of the city of Nablus from both directions and the main road connecting the city with Kalkilya on Tuesday. While it is not clear why the military blocked those areas, Nablus is not far from the city of Ariel where Ben-Gal was stabbed to death on Monday.

Late Tuesday night, there were reports of gunfights in Nablus in the vicinity of houses belonging to Asis’ family that had been surrounded by Israeli security forces. Palestinians reported that at least one person had been killed and several wounded.