Nina Keren, mother of Danny Haran and grandmother of four-year-old Einat, who were killed by Samir Kuntar. (Kobi Gideon/Flash90)
The US State Department added four Palestinian murderers to its “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” list, which prohibits any financial transactions on their behalf.
The US State Department announced Tuesday that it has updated its “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” list, adding several key terrorists who have dedicated their lives to fighting Israel through acts of barbarism.
Among those added is infamous Hezbollah terrorist Samir Kuntar, who carried out one of the most gruesome terror attacks in Israeli history. In 1979, he infiltrated Israel by boat with three other members of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF). The group killed a police officer in Nahariya before breaking into the home of the Haran family and taking hostage 31-year-old Danny Haran and his four-year-old daughter Einat. Two-year-old Yael was accidentally smothered by her mother Smadar in an attempt to quiet her whimpering so that the terrorists would not find their hiding spot.
Kuntar, notorious for his extreme sadism, led his victims to the beach, where he shot the father in the back and drowned him in his daughter’s presence. He then smashed the little girl’s head between beach rocks and the butt of his rifle.
He was released from prison in 2008 as part of a prisoner exchange to return the bodies of slain IDF soldiers.
On his return to Lebanon, Kuntar was welcomed by Hezbollah, a US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, and he has since emerged as one of the group’s most visible and popular spokesmen.
Since Kuntar’s return, he has also played an operational role, with the assistance of Iran and Syria, in building up Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure in the Golan Heights, the State Department said.
Hamas Leaders Added to the Blacklist
The State Department also announced the adding of Yahya Sinwar, Rawhi Mushtaha and Mohammed Deif, all Hamas terrorists, to the list.
Known for deploying suicide bombers and directing the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers, Deif is the top commander of Hamas’ Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades. During Operation Protective Edge, he was the mastermind of Hamas’s offensive strategy. Israel attempted to assassinate him several times.
Sinwar and Mushtaha are Hamas terrorists known for their role in founding the forerunner of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.
Sinwar was arrested by Israel in 1988 for terrorist activity, including the abduction and murder of two Israeli soldiers. He was later released from prison in 2011 as part of a prisoner swap for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Considered one of the most senior prisoners in the exchange, he has called on terrorists to kidnap more Israeli soldiers.
Mushtaha, too, was arrested by Israel in 1988 for terrorist activity and released from prison in the Shalit deal. He was serving four life sentences for murder and acts of terror.
Palestinian terrorists training in the Gaza Strip. (Mohammed Othman/Flash90)
In 2015, Mushtaha publicly called on Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades to kidnap more Israeli citizens in order to strike more prisoner exchanges.
The Specially Designated Global Terrorist list targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terror. As a result of the designation, all property subject to US jurisdiction in which the terrorists have any interest is blocked, and transactions with them or for their benefit are strictly prohibited.
By: Max Gelber, United with Israel