The terrorist attack Thursday morning in the Ramot neighborhood at the entrance to Jerusalem, carried out by two brothers Murad and Ibrahim Nimr, came a few days after Hamas announced that one of the organization's spokesmen, Muhammad Hamada, originally from the Sur Baher neighborhood of East Jerusalem, had been killed in IDF strikes in Gaza. Sur Bahir says that everyone in the village knew that the two terrorists were operatives affiliated with Hamas.
Police forces enter the Sur Bahir neighborhood, from which the terrorists left this morning
Hamada operated from the Gaza Strip, to which he was deported along with hundreds of terrorists after he was released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal in 2014, and in recent years has incited and threatened extensively, especially on the issue of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in his capacity as Hamas spokesman for the Jerusalem area.
Muhammad Hamada. Hamas spokesman killed in airstrikes in Gaza. Declared "Martyr", photo: uncredited
Upon learning of his death last Saturday, Hamada's family declared him a "martyr" and hurried to erect a mourning tent in the village – but police forces entered the neighborhood and forbade them to do so. "Praise God for the martyrdom, we ask Allah to take revenge on the oppressors," his father said. Loudspeakers from a mosque in the village, which is known to be located within the municipal boundaries of the city of Jerusalem, eulogized the terrorist Hamada.
Celebrating, despite the prohibition of the security forces
As part of the phases last week in the implementation of the deal to release the abductees held captive by Hamas, several Palestinian prisoners from the neighborhood were released to the village of Sur Baher. Israeli security forces have banned celebrations, but that has not prevented residents from making pilgrimages and attending private receptions.
Terrorist Shuruq Dwayat - the moment of liberation in her home in Sur Bahir a few days ago, photo: uncredited
A few days ago, in the East Jerusalem village they welcomed terrorist Shuruq Dwayat, 26, who was arrested in 2015 following a stabbing attack she carried out in the Old City of Jerusalem. She was sentenced to 16 years in prison and served eight years of her sentence. It should be noted that a significant portion of the Palestinian prisoners released in the past week were residents of East Jerusalem
In addition to senior Hamas figure Hamada, there are other well-known Hamas figures from the village, including Ahmed Atoun, one of the Hamas leaders in east Jerusalem, who was elected to serve as a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council on behalf of Hamas in the elections held in 2006. Over the years, restraining orders were imposed on him from East Jerusalem and he was arrested several times. Another influential figure from the village of Sur Baher is Sheikh Najeh Bakirat, a senior Waqf official at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Although he does not belong to Hamas, he was removed from the Temple Mount and detained many times on suspicions of incitement.
Sheikh Najah Bakirat, a senior Waqf official in Al-Aqsa, resident of Sur Bahir, photo: uncredited
Ahmed Atoun, Hamas member, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, resident of Sur Bahir, photo: uncredited
Fear of being labeled as a "Hamas village"
Compared to other neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, Sur Bahir has always been known as a more traditional village. In the past, radical Islamic cells sprang out of it, including activists affiliated with Hizb ut-Tahrir. Residents of the village told Israel Hayom that they fear that now, following the murderous attack in Jerusalem, the entire neighborhood will be labeled as a Hamas village. "Not everyone is Hamas here. I don't understand what happens to these people when they go out and kill innocent people in the street," said one resident. I'm ashamed. These are not people, they are damaging the whole village."
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