Brother of alleged TA gunman says family sorry over attack

Police on Wednesday released Juadat Milhem, the brother of Nashat Milhem, the Israeli Arab man who on Friday allegedly killed two people in a shooting attack at a Tel Aviv bar, and then killed a cab driver before fleeing and disappearing.

Speaking after his release, Juadat said his family was sorry for the attack, and maintained that he and his father, who is still being held as a suspected accomplice in the attack, had nothing to do with the shooting.

Other family members are also still in custody.

“He should think of his siblings, his mother, his father,” Juadat said outside the Haifa courthouse. “He should look at how we are looking… No one can believe it. He should look – we are all in trauma.”

He said: “I am innocent, and so are the others. We are not connected to anything, and we are sorry for what happened.”

A court order bars Juadat Milhem from his hometown, the Arab town of Arara, until further notice. He was arrested following the attack on suspicion that he had been an accomplice for his 29-year-old brother, Nashat Milhem.

Mohammed Milhem, the father of the suspected gunman, was arrested and questioned Tuesday along with five others. He is suspected of being an accessory to the murder and of obstructing the investigation. The suspected killer’s uncle and several other unnamed relatives and friends were also remanded Tuesday in connection with the attack.

The first attack took place Friday afternoon outside the Simta bar on Tel Aviv’s busy Dizengoff Street. Shift manager Alon Bakal, 26, and patron Shimon Ruimi, 30, were killed in a hail of bullets as the gunman opened fire with a submachine gun he apparently stole from his father. Seven people were wounded. Later in the day, Milhem allegedly shot dead Arab Israeli cab driver Amin Shaaban, whose taxi he had hailed, police formally confirmed on Wednesday evening.

The father’s lawyer, Nechami Feinblatt, said his client had been in touch with his son after he carried out the attacks. Speaking to Channel 10 Tuesday evening, Feinblatt — who noted he has been representing Mohammed Milhem for years — said police and the Shin Bet security service knew about the phone call.

“I know the father did call a certain number, and told police about it,” his attorney said. “Without elaborating, there was some contact, which the police and Shin Bet are aware of.”

Feinblatt told the TV station that his client had “certainly not” helped the suspected shooter escape. He said Mohammed Milhem’s communication with his son was known to police on Friday. He was detained and then freed before being rearrested Tuesday.

Mohammed Milhem went to the local police station in Wadi Ara after the shooting, saying he had recognized his son as the gunman on security camera footage shown on TV. On Monday, he also made a televised plea to his son to turn himself in, as Tel Aviv residents hunkered down amid ongoing searches for the suspected terrorist.

“Contact me,” the father said, appealing directly to his son. “I will help you. Let’s end this saga. These are difficult days for the family.”