Western Wall killer remanded for 5 days
Court lifts gag order, revealing shooter’s name as Hadi Kabalan of Beit Jann
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Hadi Kabalan, a 25-year-old security guard from Beit Jann, was remanded Tuesday for five more days for killing Doron ben Shlush at the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem last Friday.
The decision to release Kabalan’s name to the press was made by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court as it remanded him for a second time.
The remand hearing revealed that the two men had had previous altercations before the shooting. Multiple witnesses told investigators that Kabalan and the 46-year-old victim had had verbal clashes during the short time that the guard had been employed at the site. One fellow security guard said that the shooter previously told his superiors that Ben Shlush had threatened to kill him.
According to a police source Sunday, initial findings indicate that Ben Shlush yelled “Druze, you son of a bitch,” at Kabalan in the moments before his death.
On Friday, Kabalan told police that Ben Shlush was in a public bathroom at the site, and that he shouted “Allahu Akbar,” an Arabic phrase meaning “God is great.” The phrase, though common in Muslim parlance, has historically been shouted by terrorists ahead of perpetrating attacks in Israel.
According to Kabalan, Ben Shlush reached into his pocket while shouting the Arabic phrase, at which point the guard felt that his life was in danger so he opened fire.
Magen David Adom crews attempted to resuscitate Ben Shlush, but he succumbed to his wounds at the scene.
The Times of Israel Community.