Israel’s interior minister has claimed that the Shin Bet security services overturned an initial decision to deny the terrorist responsible for a knife rampage in Tel Aviv entry into the country.
Five people were injured in the stabbing spree before the assailant was shot dead by an off-duty IDF soldier who happened to be nearby.
Reports from Channel 11 suggest that the attacker was identified as Kaddi Abdelaziz, a Moroccan-born 29-year-old who held a US green card, based on an ID card found on the body.
Abdelaziz reportedly entered Israel over the weekend and was stopped during a passport check at Ben-Gurion Airport.
He was then allegedly interviewed by Shin Bet officials, who overturned the decision to deny him entry.
“I commend and appreciate the border inspectors of the Population and Immigration Authority, who recognized [the threat] and had sought to prevent the entry into Israel of the terrorist of the Tel Aviv attack in real time upon his arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport on January 18,” stated Moshe Arbel, a senior minister in the governing coalition.
According to Arbel, the terrorist was “transferred for questioning to security officials, who unfortunately allowed him to enter Israel.”
He urged Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar “to probe this serious incident and draw lessons from it as soon as possible.”
The intelligence agency subsequently issued a statement confirming that an investigation was underway, noting that the attacker “underwent a security assessment that included interrogations as well as additional checks, at the end of which it was decided that there was no data that would establish grounds to prevent his entry into Israel for security reasons.”
Israel’s Ynet news outlet also reported that the terrorist had shared anti-Israel content on Facebook. In one post, he allegedly accused the Jewish state of starving civilians in northern Gaza, claiming that half a million Palestinians were “at risk of dying from hunger.”
Abdelaziz also apparently shared a video praising Islam accompanied by the slogan “Free Palestine,” as well as a photo of slain terrorist Ibrahim al-Nabulsi.
Following the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led massacre, Abdelaziz was said to have shared a post referring to the terror attack as a potential reason for “doubling the number of martyrs for Islam.” His Facebook profile was deleted shortly after his identity was first published in the media.
The USÂ State Department told Ynet on Tuesday night that it was “aware of the reports” that a green card holder was involved in the attack, and conveyed “its deepest condolences to the victims and the families of all those injured.”
A spokesperson for the Immigration and Population Authority told JNS on Wednesday that the terrorist did not enter Israel through the USÂ Visa Waiver Program, but applied for a visa using his non-USÂ passport.
Israel was admitted to the Visa Waiver Program in 2023, making it the first Middle Eastern nation with reciprocal, visa-free travel to America.