‘HE DESERVED BETTER’

Mike Huckabee mourns the death of his Israeli friend who was fatally stabbed in the back by a Palestinian teenager at a busy shopping mall in the West Bank

Daily Mail
September 16, 2018

Mike Huckabee was friends with the Israeli man who was stabbed in front of a mall in the occupied West Bank on Sunday.

The former Arkansas governor shared a picture of himself with Ari Fuld, 40, on Twitter and said he was 'sickened' by his death.

'Senseless gutless murder today of Ari Fuld in Efrat, Israel,' he wrote. 'This is savage!'

'Ari stabbed in back. I was just with him in July. I'm sickened by this. This photo reminds me he deserved better.'

Huckabee also wrote that Fuld's murder was a reminder that 'there will be no peace until PA stops rewarding terrorists who kill Jews'.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also shared his condolences on social media.

'‏In the name of every citizen of Israel, I send my condolences to the family of Ari Fuld, who was murdered today in a terrorist attack in Gush Etzion,' he wrote.

'With his last strength, Ari fought heroically against the terrorist and prevented a greater tragedy.'

'Ari was a wonderful father to four children. He was an advocate for Israel who fought to spread the truth about Israel. May his memory be a blessing.'

Official Palestinian news agency WAFA described the murderer as a 'young man' from the West Bank village of Yatta. He was shot by a civilian after the attack.

The report said the teen was not severely wounded.

The incident took place at the Gush Etzion Junction south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, according to Israel's military, which provided the details of the stabbing.

Video footage shared on social media shows the assailant approaching Fuld near the mall entrance and stabbing him.

He is then pursued by civilians and shot nearby.

The stabbing comes just days after Israelis shot dead knife-wielding Palestinian at checkpoint.

There is regular friction between Israelis and Palestinians at the junction, which lies near a major Israeli settlement bloc and has been the site of numerous attacks.

A wave of Palestinian knife attacks against Israelis broke out in 2015, but they have since become sporadic.

On September 3, a Palestinian wielding a knife approached an Israeli military checkpoint near the hardline Kiryat Arba settlement in the Hebron area and was shot dead by soldiers, according to the army.

There are concerns that tensions between Israelis and Palestinians will increase this month as Jews celebrate their high holidays and pay more visits to holy sites.