Druze leaders condemn Haifa terror attack, say perpetrator suffered from mental illness and grew up in Germany

The perpetrator of a deadly terror stabbing in Haifa struggled with mental illness and grew up in Germany, according to several Druze community leaders who condemned the attack.

Jethro Shaheen, a 20-year-old Druze Israeli with German citizenship, stabbed five people after getting off a bus at Haifa’s Lev Hamifratz bus station earlier today. He was shot dead at the scene by a security guard and armed civilian.

In a Ynet interview, the attacker’s uncle Roni Kharis says that his nephew was not a terrorist, but rather struggled with mental illness.

“I am a disabled IDF veteran and his other uncle is a reserve soldier. We have nothing in our family that is hostile to the state,” he declares.

Druze politician Ayoub Kara, a former Likud MK, writes on X that he is shocked and ashamed at the mere mention of the Druze community in relation to the stabbing spree. He adds that Shaheen was born and raised in Germany and suffered from schizophrenia.

“This strange and irregular incident will only strengthen the blood and civil covenant between the Druze and the state of Israel,” he continues in a post on X. He also claims that Shaheen had attempted terror attacks while in Germany.

According to police, Shaheen arrived in Israel a week prior to his attack, after spending several months abroad.

Shfar’am Mayor Nahed Hazem, whose city the assailant hails from, tells the Kan public broadcaster he is shocked by the incident.

“It is a heinous crime, and I completely condemn it,” Hazem says, noting that Shaheen suffered from mental illness and was being treated by the city’s welfare bureau. He also notes the attacker’s German upbringing.

The mayor divulges that two of the people injured in the attack are Shfar’am residents, one of them related to a manager in his office.

Sheikh Muafak Tarif, the spiritual head of Israel’s Druze community, offers his condolences to the family of the murdered victim, an unnamed man in his 60s, in an interview to Ynet.

“The Druze community fights terrorism everywhere, and the civilians involved in neutralizing him were also members of the Druze community,” Tarif adds.

The forum of the heads of the Druze and Circassian authorities put out a statement denouncing the attack.

“We are certain that the identity of the attacker and his mental condition will soon become clear, and that the attacker is likely of German origin,” the statement reads. “The forum stands united and determined against any attempt to harm the security of Israeli citizens.”