Murder of Ori Ansbacher
The murder of Ori Ansbacher (also known as the Ein Yael attack) was an attack during which a Palestinian man raped and then murdered Ori Ansbacher, a 19-year-old young Israeli woman from Tekoa.[1]
| Murder of Ori Ansbacher | |
|---|---|
| Part of Palestinian terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict | |
| Location | Ein Yael, Jerusalem, Israel |
| Date | February 7, 2019 (body discovered) |
Attack type | Stabbing |
| Weapons | Knife |
| Deaths | 1 |
Background and attack
On February 7, 2019, 11:00 AM, Ori's relatives reported her absence to the police. Ori volunteered at a youth center in Jerusalem and, according to friends, on the same day she had left the center agitated and went to seclude herself in nature, as she often liked to do. On 19:14 PM that day, her lifeless body was found by the police in the Ein Yael forest in the outskirts of Jerusalem, with signs of harsh violence.[2] On February 8, 2019, a suspect for the murder named Arafat Irafaiya was arrested by the Israeli security forces in Ramallah. Irafaiya had a terrorist background and had spent time in an Israeli prison before the attack. He and his family are affiliated with Hamas.[3] Irafaiya admitted to raping and murdering Ori, saying that "I entered Israel with a knife because I wanted to become a martyr and murder a Jew, I met the girl by chance”.[1]
Reactions
The murder and its gruesome details caused fury among the Israeli public. Rumors circulating that Ori was decapitated by the murderer caused the Israeli police to release an official statement denying such claims.[4]
The murder drove the Israeli government to act on the issue of imprisoned Palestinian terrorists receiving monthly stipends from the Palestinian Authority. On February 17, 2019, the Israeli security cabinet decided to enforce earlier legislation intended to deduct from money delivered by Israel to the Palestinian Authority the amount the Palestinian Authority pays to imprisoned terrorists, sparking outrage among Palestinian officials.[5]
The Jewish community in Gush Etzion planted dozens of trees in Ori's memory, which were later destroyed by Palestinian vandals.[6]
See also
- Murder of Dvir Sorek (7 August 2019)
- Murder of Rina Shnerb (23 August 2019)
References
- "Suspect in murder of teen: 'I wanted to kill a Jew and be a martyr' -- report". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- "Ori Ansbacher, 19, named as Jerusalem murder victim". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- "שב"כ: החשוד ברצח אורי אנסבכר יצא מביתו עם סכין, הבחין בה ביער ותקף אותה - משפט ופלילים - הארץ". haaretz.co.il. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- "החדשות - רצח אורי אנסבכר: גובר החשד שהרקע לאומני". mako.co.il. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- "הקבינט אישר את חוק קיזוז משכורות המחבלים". ynet.co.il. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- Aryeh Savir, Tazpit News Agency. "Arabs Uproot Grove Planted in Memory of Terror Victim Ori Ansbacher | The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com | Aryeh Savir, Tazpit News Agency | 19 Adar I 5779 – February 24, 2019". JewishPress.com. Retrieved 2 March 2019.