A Muslim Arab from Jerusalem has joined the search for Nashat Milhem, who shot two Israeli civilians to death in Tel Aviv on Friday and wounded another seven.
Israel police, aided by IDF soldiers and volunteers, are still conducting a large-scale manhunt after Nashat Milhem, the Israeli Arab terrorist who killed two and injured seven in a Tel Aviv shooting attack on New Year’s Day.
A Muslim Arab from Jerusalem has also joined the efforts to capture Milhem. Mazen Qaq, who acts as the chairman of the Committee of Jerusalem’s Old City Merchants, has offered a substantial cash reward for any viable information which could lead to Melhem’s capture.
“If I saw him today I would capture him myself, or at least do whatever it takes for him to be captured,” Qaq told the Israeli press on Tuesday.
It is suspected that Milhem has fled to Palestinian Authority-administered territory in Judea and Samaria. Police announced earlier in the day that Tel Aviv residents can calm down regarding the danger posed by Milhem, who is likely armed and could strike again. “As of this morning, the tension in Gush Dan [Tel Aviv district] can be significantly reduced,” Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich stated.
Qaq, who is willing to pay $10,000 of his own money as a reward, said he considers himself to be an Israeli Arab, rather than a Palestinian, and that he represents many Arab business owners in Jerusalem.
“We need to stop with the ‘Arab against Israeli’ narrative. We are all cousins who wish to live in peace,” said Qaq. “This is a man who acted against citizens of Israel, I will not let a man like that destroy our security and our mutual trust.”
Qaq explained that he was motivated to take this action out of the need to restore the trust and close relations between Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews, which, according to him, have been damaged by the recent wave of terrorism.
However, not everyone is enthusiastic about Qaq’s award initiative. “Whoever is offering money, or whatever initiative someone has taken, is completely irrelevant to the operation,” Chief Inspector Micky Rosenfeld, the Israel police foreign press spokesman, told Tazpit Press Service (TPS).
“We are working on an operational level and on an intelligence level for a realistic solution,” Rosenfeld stated.
By: United with Israel Staff and Michael Zeff, TPS