Israel Rebukes U.N. Official for Referring to Terror as ‘Scuffle’

Israel on Motzoei Shabbos rebuked a top U.N. official who referred to a Palestinian assault on an Israeli couple and a border policeman on Friday as just a “scuffle” and said he was “horrified” that security forces killed the terrorist.

A senior Foreign Ministry official spoke with U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland, who tweeted about the violence that occurred on Route 60, the main artery in Huwarra just south of Shechem that is used by both Israelis and Palestinians.

In the conversation, the Foreign Ministry official “expressed his displeasure” at Wennesland’s words.

After the attack, Wennesland wrote that he was “horrified by today’s killing of a Palestinian man, Ammar Mifleh, during a scuffle with an Israeli soldier near Huwarra in the West Bank.

“My heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family. Such incidents must be fully [and] promptly investigated, [and] those responsible held accountable,” Wennesland wrote.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon replied to the post that Wenneland’s statement was a “total distortion of reality.”

Nachshon emphasized that ”this incident is a terror attack, in which an Israeli policeman was stabbed in his face and the life of another police officer was threatened and consequently he shot his assailant.

“This is NOT a “scuffle” – this is a terror attack!” Nachshon added for emphasis.

An Israel Border Police officer was lightly injured in a stabbing attack that occurred after a Palestinian, identified as Ammar Mifleh, attempted to break into a vehicle with an Israeli couple inside, Border Police said.

After he realized the car door was locked, he tried to break into it using a stone, before being shot by the driver, an IDF officer on leave.

Mifleh then approached a team of Border Police soldiers and stabbed one of them in the face, lightly injuring him. Footage posted to social media showed another Border Police officer trying to arrest Mifleh as two other Palestinians attempted to pull him away from the officer.

The officer then put Mifleh in a headlock, pulling him away from the other Palestinians until he broke free from the officer’s grasp. Mifleh then appeared to grab for the officer’s weapon, at that point the officer pulled his handgun and fired four shots at Mifleh at point black range, killing him.

The wounded officer was evacuated from the scene of the stabbing for medical treatment, and the terrorist’s death was determined at the scene of the attack.

On Motzoei Shabbos, the officer told Channel 12 he feared that had Mifleh succeeded in grabbing his gun, he would have used it for a terror attack against motorists.

Police Chief Kobi Shabtai visited the officer shortly after the stabbing in order to congratulate him for his professional behavior in the face of the attack.

“You acted professionally, as we expect from every combat soldier and every commander,” he said.

Over Shabbos, clashes broke out with Israeli security forces in Mifleh’s hometown of Osarin after Israel refused to release his body to his family to bury him.