Israel Returns Body of Chevron Terrorist Killed by IDF Soldier

Gaza Arab terrorists fired five rockets at southern Israel Friday night, but none reached their targets, according to IDF sources. Three of the rockets failed to clear the Gaza border fence, and two exploded right after being fired. A terror group associated with IS, the Ajnand Beit Al-Maqdas, claimed responsibility for the incident.

Hamas, meanwhile fired three rockets itself – in the direction of the Mediterranean. A spokesperson for the terror group said that the rockets were fired as part of a test of a new, advanced weapons system.

Meanwhile, Israel late Friday returned to the family the body of Abdelfattah Al-Sharif , the terrorist who was shot in Chevron by IDF soldier Elor Azarya. The terrorist attempted to stab Israeli soldiers and was shot down by Azarya, who then approached the terrorist as he was lying on the floor and shot him again. Azarya is still being held on a military base awaiting trial in the incident, with military prosecutors claiming that the soldier took an “unauthorized shot” at the terrorist, and Azarya claiming that he feared the terrorist was going to set off a bomb.

The funeral was held Saturday afternoon. In response, the family of Azarya said in a statement that the incident was “very disturbing and hurtful. A terrorist who came to murder our soldier gets a mass funeral with honors, with calls for revenge against Israel and threats to kill our son as he is wrapped in a Hamas flag and buried as a hero, while Elor is still restricted to base like a prisoner, charged with manslaughter after being insulted and sullied in the media, for trying to protect the soldiers around him. How long will this injustice go on? We call on the authorities to release our son and let him return home.”