Nashat Milhem, the 29-year-old gunman who murdered two Israelis at the Simta bar in Tel Aviv on New Years day, before allegedly fatally shooting a 42-year-old Bedouin Israeli taxi driver, was shot and killed by Israel forces in a mosque in northern Israel on Friday.
Milhem, the subject of a nation-wide manhunt over the last week, was located in a mosque in Umm al-Fahm, which overlooks Wadi Ara. Initial Hebrew-language reports claimed that the suspect was “neutralized” before confirming that he was shot dead.
The news follows reports of increased security throughout the Tel Aviv area on Friday, as well as reports that claimed the city was no longer under threat.
According to Ynet, Shin Bet and Israeli police counter-terrorism forces (YAMAM) arrived at the mosque at approximately 4:20 p.m., when Milhem exited the building in an attempt to escape. He reportedly opened fire using the same weapon he used during the Tel Aviv attacks, before the forces returned fire and shot him dead.
The search for Milhem was Israeli police’s top priority over the last week, as forces attempted to pinpoint his escape route after he opened fire at a bar on Tel Aviv’s busy Dizengoff Street, leaving 26-year-old Alon Bakal and 30-year-old Shimon Ruimi dead. Seven people were also wounded, two severely.
Police believe that Milhem then hailed a taxi to take him out of the city, driven by Amin Shaaban, a father of eleven. After seeing police barricades ahead, Milhem had reportedly killed Shaaban outside the Mandarin Hotel, before driving the cab himself to Namir Road, where he abandoned it outside a bus stop.
Earlier this week, as the search for Milhem intensified, a schoolgirl located the terrorist’s cellphone in a building in Ramat Aviv, where he is believed to have disposed it after abandoning the taxi. According to Ynet, the cellphone was “the last point of reference for investigators,” and Milhem was believed to have fled to either northern Israel, or the West Bank.
According to Israel’s Channel 10 News, finding Milhem in the north was believed to be more difficult than in the West Bank, where the Shin Bet has many informants. Police believe that Milhem had likely received assistance before, and after, the attack.
