Israeli Girl Stabbed To Death While Asleep

An Israeli girl was stabbed to death by a Palestinian teen while asleep in her bedroom in the West Bank, reported the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Hallel Yaffa Ariel, 13, was sound asleep in her room at the Kiryat Arba settlement when Muhammad Nasser Tarayrah, 17, broke into the girl’s room and murdered her. The young Palestinian teen allegedly jumped over the security fence near the home of the girl to commit the crime. Although the breach in security set off alarms within the West Bank village, the attacker had already started stabbing the teen by the time guards made it to the bloody scene.

This morning a teenage girl was violently stabbed in her bedroom by a #Palestinian terrorist. pic.twitter.com/Pege3V5Nmt

— LTC (R) Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) June 30, 2016

Tarayrah hails from the village of Bani Naim, which is adjacent to Kiryat Arba.

Civilian guards shot the young girl’s killer after an initial struggle with him. Unfortunately, one of the guards in the community was stabbed to death while trying to fend off Tarayrah. The deceased civilian guard also had gunshot wounds. The Israeli media reported that the civilian guard was accidentally shot by fellow officials upon arriving at the crime scene.

The Israeli girl who was stabbed died from her wounds at a Jerusalem hospital. Upon arrival, Ariel was unconscious and unable to breathe.

The Israeli girl’s stabbing has caused outrage amongst the country’s politicians and officials. After the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman decided to close off Tarayrah’s village as a precaution against further attacks. The prime minister also revoked work permits in Israel for those who were a part of the killer’s plot. He also ordered the terrorists’ family home to be demolished.

Netanyahu commented further on the tragedy.

“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.”

The young Israeli girl who was stabbed may be deceased, but her fight isn’t over. Prime Minister Netanyahu said he expected Palestinian leadership to “clearly and unequivocally” condone the tragedy and to immediately take action against such an act of terrorism.

Other countries from around the world have reacted to the death of Ariel. The U.S. State Department responded to the act of terrorism by speaking against it “in the strongest possible terms.”

“This brutal act of terrorism is simply unconscionable…We extend our deepest condolences to her family. We also understand another individual who was responding to the attack was wounded by the attacker. We extend our hopes for a quick and full recovery.”

The Israeli stabbing victim also received support from Lars Faaborg-Andersen, the head of the European Union office located in Israel.

The official tweeted, “Strongly condemn terror murder of Hallel Yaffa Ariel in Kiryat Arba this morning. No excuse for terrorism – LFA.”

Israel and Palestine Country Director for Human Rights Watch Sari Bashi sent a statement out this morning to journalists regarding the young girl’s murder. She called this act of terrorism a “ghastly crime.”

“The fact that settlements are illegal under international law does not make their inhabitants, the children as well as their parents, subject to lethal attack.”

The young Israeli girl’s stabbing has also led to some questioning from Bashi about the government’s response to the act of terrorism.

“The killing provides no legal justification for the Israeli government to punish the alleged attacker’s family members. Destroying the home of the attacker’s relatives and canceling their work permits is an unlawful collective punishment, causing suffering for family members who committed no crime.”

[Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images]