Photos: Menachem Kalish

T

he eight-month lull in stabbing attacks was brutally halted last week when a 17-year-old Arab from the Palestinian village of Kobar murdered Yotam Ovadia Hy”d, a resident of Adam in the Binyamin district. Ovadia, 31, leaves behind his wife, Tal Tahel, and two children — Harel, almost three, and seven-month-old Itai.

Despite Hamas’s continuing attempts to carry out terror attacks and establish a terrorist infrastructure outside Gaza, there has been relative quiet within Israel since the start of the year. Coordination between Israeli and Palestinian security forces prevented any incidents, even on the day of the US embassy’s grand opening in Jerusalem.

Two others were wounded in the Adam attack: Yossi Mussinger, 50, and Assaf Raviv, 41, who fired the shots that killed the terrorist. The terrorist, who jumped over the community’s security fence, had told some Bedouins of his intentions beforehand, and they reported this to the guard at the entrance to Adam — but not in time to avert the attack.

On Friday morning, Israeli security forces stormed the terrorist’s family home in Kobar, confiscating work permits and marking the house for demolition. In response, some 150 locals began throwing rocks, Molotov cocktails, and burning tires. In the aftermath, the army decided to reinforce the Judea and Samaria division with two additional brigades. Kobar was also home to the terrorist who murdered three members of the Salomon family in Chalamish last year.

The head of the Binyamin Regional Council, Avi Roeh, said, “The last period was quiet, but again we’re getting a reminder that the fight for our home is ongoing. We will continue in our path — bolstering, developing and increasing Jewish settlement.”

Oren Edri, Yotam Ovadia’s brother-in-law, told Mishpacha: “The family is shattered. This cursed terrorist caught Yotam as he was bringing things for the Shabbos meal. He was on his way to his parents’ house, three doors away.” Edri said that his sister, the widow, is in shock, and completely at a loss. “We’re trying to show the children as much as we can that everything is okay, but the three-year-old understands.”

Oren described his brother-in-law as “a modest, simple man, someone who didn’t seek attention. He was a supportive husband and a good provider for his children and my sister.”

Yaakov Ovadia, Yotam’s uncle, said that the family was well known throughout the community. “All the children served in the defense forces. This is another blow after earlier tragedies. As a close-knit extended family, we’ll help to the best of our ability.”

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz sent his condolences to the Ovadia family and congratulated Raviv for his resourcefulness in shooting the terrorist, thereby preventing further fatalities.

“It’s interesting that this terrorist and the murderer of the Salomon family came from the same village,” Katz said. “It indicates a certain atmosphere there. It’s enough to hear PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas proclaim that he’ll use his last shekel to pay families of terrorists in order to understand what’s happening in the area.”

A while ago, Katz proposed a bill calling to expel families of terrorists to Gaza. He claims this would be a suitable deterrent against individual terror. “I’m not even discussing punishment. This is simply a deterrent, beyond demolishing homes, with the aim of saving lives. I asked the prime minister to advance the bill, because Hamas is encouraging this type of terror, and Abbas is also giving support and incentives.” (Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 721)