Hallel Ariel Murder: Outrage Spreads As Details Emerge Of 13-Year-Old Stabbed To Death In Her Bed By Terrorist
Hallel Ariel was sleeping in her bedroom when a Palestinian teenager broke into her house and brutally murdered her, and new details into the death of the 13-year-old Israeli-American girl are sparking outrage worldwide.
Ariel was killed Thursday morning in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces told CNN. The killing immediately made international news, the latest act of violence amid simmering tensions in the region.
Authorities said security guards entered the home and fought the attacker, identified as 17-year-old Mohammed Tarayra. The suspect reportedly stabbed one of the guards during the fight before forces shot and killed the attacker.
The murder drew a sharp rebuke from the United States, with U.S. Secretary of State spokesman John Kirby calling it a “brutal act of terrorism”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the world to condemn the attack.
“The horrifying murder of a young girl in her bed underscores the bloodlust and inhumanity of the incitement-driven terrorists that we are facing. The entire nation deeply identifies with the family’s pain and declares to the murderers: You will not break us. We will continue to take strong and determined action against terrorism everywhere and at all times,” he said in a statement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a condolence call today on the family of the late Hallel Yaffa Ariel. pic.twitter.com/ghnAqKRXAm
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 1, 2016
The murder of Hallel Ariel comes amid a dire report from the so-called Quartet warning of “perpetual occupation and conflict” unless both sides took positive action. The group — which includes the United States, United Nations, European Union, and Russia — issued the report calling for bilateral negotiations in order to ease the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
As BBC News noted, the report identified major barriers to peace between Israel and Palestine.
- Continuing violence, terrorism and incitement
- Israeli settlement expansion
- Lack of control of Gaza by the West-Bank based Palestinian Authority
And the murder of Hallel Ariel is not the only violence in the region. A total of 35 Israelis have been killed in various attacks since October, officials stated. Another 200 Palestinians have been killed, most of them attackers, Israel noted.
The report faulted leaders in Palestine for not trying to stem the violence.
“Palestinian leaders have not consistently and clearly condemned specific terrorist attacks. And streets, squares and schools have been named after Palestinians who have committed acts of terrorism,” the report says.
There were signs of still-rising tensions after Ariel’s murder, including reports that Palestinian media outlets were referring to the dead attacker as a martyr.
Ariel, 13, had just finished her school year and was on a summer vacation when the teenage Palestinian terrorist broke into her home and stabbed her to death in her sleep. Ariel was buried on Friday in a ceremony that drew hundreds of mourners.
“She was a beautiful, vibrant, and amazing girl,” Rina Ariel told Israel’s Army Radio (via NBC News). “Her whole future was open.”
The murder of American Hallel Yaffa Ariel would be more newsworthy if a gun were used as she ate a bag of Skittles. https://t.co/uRm5vsHlgZ
— Razor (@hale_razor) July 1, 2016
Rina Ariel had said that her family normally keeps all windows closed as a precaution against intruders, but they had one open on Thursday to let in the cool nighttime air. She hopes her daughter’s murder will serve as a tragic warning to others.
“The terrorist had an easy job of jumping over the fence and entered our house,” Ariel said. “We must build a better barrier.”
“We don’t have to live like this, we can change this reality,” she added.
As new details emerge on the murder of Hallel Ariel, more outrage is building against the terrorist attack. The Israeli military posted a picture of Ariel’s murder scene, showing the teenager’s bedroom covered in blood. In another photo, the body of attacker Mohammed Tarayra could be seen laying face-down in a large pool of blood.
[Photo by Olivier Fitoussi/AP Images]
