On 1 January 2016, an

Israeli Arab The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

gunman opened fire on several businesses on

Dizengoff Street Dizengoff Street ( he, רחוב דיזנגוף, ''Rehov Dizengoff'') is a major street in central Tel Aviv, named after Tel Aviv's first mayor, Meir Dizengoff. The street runs from the corner of Ibn Gabirol Street in its southernmost point to the ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, Israel, killing two and injuring seven civilians. He also killed a taxi driver while fleeing. The attack was believed to be inspired by

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

. The event took place in parallel with the 2015-16 Palestinian unrest.

Attack

The gunman, reported to be a young man wearing sunglasses and dressed in black, exited a grocery store and pulled what appeared to be a

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...

out of his bag and opened fire on a

sushi is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is " ...

restaurant, a cafe, and a bar called "''Ha'Simta''" ("The Alley"), with the bar appearing to be the main target. Shortly after, the suspect took a taxi at

Ibn Gabirol Street Ibn Gabirol Street ( he, רְחוֹב אִבְּן גַבִּירוֹל) (colloquially Ibn Gvirol or Even Gvirol) is a major street in Tel Aviv, Israel. Ibn Gabirol Street is named after the medieval Hebrew poet and philosopher Solomon ibn Gabi ...

near

Rabin Square Rabin is a Hebrew surname. It originates from the Hebrew word ''rav'' meaning Rabbi, or from the name of the specific Rabbi Abin. The most well known bearer of the name was Yitzhak Rabin, prime minister of Israel and Nobel Peace prize Laureate. ...

, some 750 meters east of the attack site. He later shot the driver, identified as Arab-Israeli Amin Shaaban, who was found dead near north Tel Aviv's Mandarin Hotel. The two murdered victims at the site of the shooting were identified as Alon Bakal, the manager of the Simta, and 30-year-old Shimon Ruimi of

Ofakim Ofakim ( he, אֳפָקִים ''ʾŎfāqīm'', or אוֹפָקִים ''ʾŌfāqīm'', ''lit.'' "horizons") is a city in the Southern District of Israel, 20 kilometers (12.4 mi) west of Beersheba. It achieved municipal status in 1955. I ...

. The perpetrator's cell phone was found shortly before the attack in an alley in

Ramat Aviv Ramat Aviv Alef or Ramat Aviv HaYeruka, and originally plainly Ramat Aviv ( he, רָמַת אָבִיב, ''lit.'' Spring Heights), is a neighborhood in northwest Tel Aviv, Israel. History Ramat Aviv was founded in 1950s following the great inf ...

, a few miles north of the shooting scene. The girl who found the cell phone did not initially realize that it belonged to the perpetrator, and once she did so a day later, she and her father contacted the police.

Selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a digital camera or smartphone, which may be held in the hand or supported by a selfie stick. Selfies are often shared on social media, via social networking services such as F ...

videos from his cell phone were later made public by the

Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; he, שֵׁירוּת הַבִּיטָּחוֹן הַכְּלָלִי; ''Sherut ha-Bitaẖon haKlali''; "the General Security Service"; ar, جهاز الأمن العام), better known by the acronym Shabak ( he, ...

. The videos led officials to believe that the attack was inspired by

Suspect

Police identified the suspect as a 31-year-old named Nashat Melhem, from

Ar'ara Ar'ara ( ar, عرعرة, he, עַרְעָרָה; lit. "Juniper tree")Palmer, 1881p.144/ref> is an Israeli Arab or Palestinian town in the Wadi Ara region in northern Israel. It is located southwest of Umm al-Fahm just northwest of the Green Li ...

, an Arab town in the

Wadi Ara Wadi Ara ( ar, وادي عارة, he, ואדי עארה) or Nahal 'Iron ( he, נחל עירון), is a valley and its surrounding area in Israel populated mainly by Arab Israelis. The area is also known as the "Northern Triangle". Wadi Ara is ...

area of northern Israel. He was identified after his father, who works in security, recognized his son from the security footage and noticed that his gun, reportedly a

Spectre M4 The Spectre M4 is an Italian submachine gun that was produced by the SITES factory in Turin. It was designed by Roberto Teppa and Claudio Gritti in the mid-1980s. Production in Italy ceased in the year 1997, with the closure of SITES, but proce ...

, was missing. Melhem had previously been arrested in 2007 for attempting to steal an Israeli soldier's gun. He attacked the soldier with a

screwdriver A screwdriver is a tool, manual or powered, used for turning screws. A typical simple screwdriver has a handle and a shaft, ending in a tip the user puts into the screw head before turning the handle. This form of the screwdriver has been repla ...

, and said he wanted to avenge his cousin's death, and also said he wanted to sell the gun. Relatives and acquaintances claimed that he had mental health issues and often engaged in "problematic" behavior. Relatives stated he was not religious or affiliated with any political movement.

Investigation

Immediately following the incident, Israeli forces began a massive manhunt throughout the Tel Aviv area for Melhem.

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

following the incident announced that forces have been increased within relevant areas. With the location of Melhem unknown, Israel requested the

Palestinian Government The Palestinian government is the government of the Palestinian Authority or State of Palestine. The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (EC) is the highest executive body of the Palestine Liberation Organization and acts ...

's help in searching the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

for possible information on his whereabouts, to which they later agreed to turn in Melhem if he was in the West Bank. His family stated that if he returned home they would immediately alert the authorities. After several days, Israeli Police expanded their search to northern Arab towns. In the days following the shooting, Melhem's father, Mohammed, along with five other family members and friends, were arrested on charges of premeditated manslaughter, being an accessory to murder, illegal association and conspiracy to commit a crime. The next day, Melhem's brother, Jaudat, was released from prison, but ordered not to return home. The Police requested the court to allow Mohammed Melhem to be kept in police custody for up to 12 days. Melhem's mother stated that police threatened to demolish their home for not releasing their son's whereabouts. On 8 January 2016, an IDF search dog picked up the scent of Melhem's feces. Melhem was then killed by

Yamam The Yamam ( he, ימ"מ, an acronym for ''Centralized Special Unit'' , ''Yeḥida Merkazit Meyuḥedet''), also called in Hebrew and Israel's National Counter Terror Unit (I.N.C.T.U.) in English, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, ...

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

operators in a mosque in

, following a shootout with the police. Melhem's body was buried in Arara's cemetery on 12 January, with some of the 80 participants, some of which hailed him as a martyr. Following Melhem being located four additional people were arrested on suspicion of aiding Melhem while in hiding.4 arrested on suspicion of aiding Tel Aviv gunman
/ref> On 27 January, three of Melhem's relatives: Amin and Mohammed Melhem, and Ayoub Rashid, were indicted for abetting Nashat Melhem elude police. In the indictment, Mohammed Melhem was charged with providing Nasha'at Melhem with a new cell phone and Amin Melhem was charged with helping Nasha'at Melhem plan a second attack in Israel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tel Aviv shooting 2010s crimes in Tel Aviv 2016 mass shootings in Asia 2016 murders in Israel Attacks on buildings and structures in Israel Deaths by firearm in Israel Mass shootings in Israel Terrorist incidents in Israel in 2016 Terrorist incidents in Tel Aviv January 2016 crimes in Asia January 2016 events in Asia Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant activities People killed by Israeli security forces Terrorist attacks carried out by Arab citizens of Israel

Attack

Suspect

Investigation

See also

References