Palestinian Police Let Terrorist Walk Free After Murdering Young Jewish Boy: Reports

On Wednesday night, a Palestinian terrorist opened fire on an Israeli bus, killing a young Israeli boy returning from a family celebration.

The terrorist, identified in news reports as Izz al-Din Maluh, reportedly turned himself in at a Palestinian Authority police station after a manhunt by Israeli forces. But the Palestinian police allegedly only confiscated his weapon and did not arrest him.

The terrorist’s bullets hit the bus 22 times at the El-Khader Junction in Gush Etzion on Route 60. Ten-year-old Yehoshua Aharon Tuvia Simha from Beitar Illit was shot in the upper body and later evacuated to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital near Jerusalem, where he was pronounced dead after a few hours. Three other bus passengers were injured in the attack.

AN ANGEL IS TAKEN FROM EARTH
We mourn for 12-year-old Yehoshua Aharon Tuvia Simcha who was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist while riding a bus from Betar to Jerusalem.
He is the son of Rabbi Zusha Simcha, the head of the Pnei Menachem Yeshiva in Betar.
May God comfort the… pic.twitter.com/MZ7N0snpgR

— Dov Lipman (@DovLipman) December 12, 2024

“The security forces will, with God’s help, complete the manhunt and settle accounts with the human scum behind this terrible attack,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on X prior to the terrorist being caught. “We will also eradicate terror in Judea and Samaria with determination and aggression, just like Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria.“

הילד יהושע אהרן טוביה שמחה הי״ד נרצח הלילה בפיגוע קשה. בשם עם ישראל, אני שולח תנחומים וחיבוק גדול למשפחה.

כוחות הביטחון ישלימו בע"ה את המצוד ויבואו חשבון עם חלאות האדם שעומדות מאחורי הפיגוע הנורא הזה.

גם את הטרור ביו"ש נמגר בנחישות ובהתקפיות כמו את חמאס, חיזבאללה וסוריה. pic.twitter.com/tpWwET5aLa

— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) December 12, 2024

Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote, “The boy Yehoshua Aharon Tovia Simcha the 14th, a 10-year-old boy, returned with his family from a family celebration and was murdered in an attack by a criminal last night in Gush Etzion. I wish to console and hug his family and friends at a very painful and sad moment for the people of Israel. … I trust the security forces to bring about the capture of the despicable terrorist.”

הילד יהושע אהרון טוביה שמחה הי״ד, ילד בן 10, חזר עם משפחתו משמחה משפחתית ונרצח בפיגוע על ידי בן עוולה אמש בגוש עציון.

אני מבקש לנחם ולחבק את משפחתו וחבריו ברגע כואב ועצוב מאד לעם ישראל.

שולח חיזוק לתושבי גוש עציון בשעתם הקשה, וללוחמי צה״ל וכוחות הביטחון אשר פועלים בחזיתות…

— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) December 12, 2024

The IDF announced: “After a joint manhunt by IDF, police and Shin Bet forces, which included a military encirclement of Bethlehem and the application of military pressure in the area, the terrorist who carried out the shooting attack in the area of the Al-Hader Junction in the Etzion Brigade turned himself in to the security forces.”

“Violence in the West Bank has surged, with Route 60 becoming a frequent target for attacks,” TheMediaLine noted.

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Palestinian terrorists have killed numerous Jews as they have traveled on Route 60. In February 2023, two Israeli brothers, Hallel Yaniv, 21, and Yagel Yaniv, 19, were murdered when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire from close range at them on the Route 60 highway. In August 2023, Batsheva Nigri, a mother of three, was shot to death in a terrorist attack on Route 60 near Hebron while her daughter was in the car. Hamas praised the murder, calling it a “natural response.”

At Nigri’s funeral, her brother said, “You were also amazing to the children in all the kindergartens where you worked — hundreds of children learned what Judaism is from you. I refuse to accept what the mind already knows. To me you were always the eldest sister, I chose you to be my sister every day.”