Off-duty soldier killed in Thursday terror attack was American citizen
Tuvia Yanai Weissman, 21, was stabbed to death while shopping with wife, baby in West Bank; State Department: Attack underscores need for both sides to reject violence
The United States said Friday that Tuvia Yanai Weissman, an off-duty Israeli solder who was stabbed to death in a Palestinian terror attack on Thursday, was an American citizen.
Weissman, 21, who was married with a 4-month-old daughter, was laid to rest in Jerusalem on Friday morning.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said that Weissman was also a US citizen. Toner condemned the attack, saying there was no excuse for terrorism. He said the attack underscores the need for Israelis and Palestinians to reject violence, reduce tensions and restore calm.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the attack that took place yesterday in the West Bank that resulted in the death of US citizen Tuvya Weisman,” said the statement from Toner.
“There is no justification for terrorism,” the statement said. “This horrific incident again underscores the need for all sides to reject violence, and urgently take steps to restore calm, reduce tensions, and bring an immediate end to the violence.”
Weissman, a resident of the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Mikhmas, died of wounds sustained during a stabbing terror attack at a supermarket in the Sha’ar Binyamin Industrial Zone, located southeast of Ramallah in the West Bank. He was stabbed and critically injured while shopping with wife Yael and their baby girl Neta.
The couple were childhood sweethearts, who married two years ago.
Weissman was on a week-long leave from the army when he was attacked, and so was without a firearm.
Palestinians Omar Rimawi and Ihad Sabah, both 14 from Beitunia near Ramallah, were identified as the two attackers. They were shot by an armed civilian who rushed to the scene after hearing screaming. Sabah died of his wounds. Rimawi remains hospitalized.
Security footage from the attack showed that three Palestinians sought to enter the supermarket. A security guard turned one away, but allowed the other two in without a physical check.
In a Channel 2 interview, Yael Weissman said her husband ran to help when they heard a scream — as the two Palestinian assailants stabbed their first victim, a man in his mid-30s who was seriously wounded. “He had no weapon,” said Yael, “but he ran to help.”
News agencies contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.