Netanyahu vows to destroy home of Otniel teen terrorist

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday that Israel would demolish the home of the Palestinian teen terrorist who stabbed to death an Israeli mother-of-six in the West Bank settlement of Otniel on Sunday.

“We will fight our enemies, and destroy the home of the terrorist and cancel the work permits [of his family members],” Netanyahu said after visiting the grieving family of Dafna Meir, who was killed at the entrance to her home in front of her teenage daughter.

The suspect in the attack, named as Morad Bader Abdullah Adais, 16, was arrested by security forces overnight Monday in the village of Beit Amra, some three kilometers (1.8 miles) from the scene of the attack.

Adais is suspected of entering Meir’s home and killing her before fleeing on foot. Three of Meir’s six children were home when she was killed, and one, 17-year-old Renana, gave security forces a description of the terrorist.

Nentanyahu also toured the area around the Otniel settlement with Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and IDF Central Region Commander Major General Roni Numa and other senior regional commanders.

The family of Dafna Meir at her funeral in Jerusalem on January 18, 2106. Meir was stabbed to death at the entrance to her home in the settlement of Otniel on January 17. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The prime minister declared that the Meir family was an example of the difference between Israelis and Palestinians.

“Anyone who wants to the truth about the root of the conflict between us and the Palestinians, should come to Otniel, see the wonderful family that only wanted coexistence and peace, and look at these [Palestinian] youths who were incited to come murder women here, a mother of six, and in Tekoa a pregnant woman,” he said, referring to a stabbing attack in another settlement on Monday that moderately injured a woman, Michal Froman.

Dafna Meir, left, with her husband Natan Meir in an undated picture posted on Facebook. (Screen capture: Facebook)

“On one side there is humanity here and a desire for peace and coexistence, and boundless hatred on the other,” he continued. “That hatred has a source — the incitement from the Palestinian Authority and other sources like the Islamic Movement and like Hamas, and the time has come for the international community to end its hypocrisy and call a spade a spade.”

Ya’alon said he is confident Israel will be successful in ending the current wave of terror.

“There is wave of terror, but we will defeat it, I have no doubt,” he said during the visit.
“We need to be determined, we need to be aware, but in the end, we will defeat this as we have done in the past.”

More than two dozen Israelis have been killed in stabbing, shooting and car ramming attacks since October 1.

Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.