Hamas mourns Tel Aviv shooter, calls him hero

The Hamas Movement has mourned the death of Nashaat Melhem, who was murdered by Israeli police forces in Umm al-Fahm city on Friday, and described him as a hero.

In a press release, Hamas spokesman Husam Badran stated that “Melhem had confused the Israeli occupation state for more than one week after he had shattered the myth of its security grip and carried out his operation inside its own house.”

“Nashaat is an example of the free Palestinian who sacrifices himself in defense of his own people and in support of their [national] cause,” Badran underlined.

“The blood of the martyrs will remain a beacon for the [Palestinian] generations who will tread the same path,” he added.

For its part, the Islamic Jihad Movement deplored the murder of Melhem during a police raid in Umm al-Fahm city, stressing that the Palestinian people have the right to resist the occupation and confront its aggression.

The Movement threatened in a press release that the Israeli occupation would pay dearly for its crimes and racism against the Palestinians in the 1948 occupied lands.

Special police forces on Friday evening killed Nashaat Melhem in armed clashes with him near Bawadi Ara Mosque in Umm al-Fahm.

Three Israelis were killed last week and many others suffered injuries when Melhem opened fire on a street in Tel Aviv.