Canadian PFLP operative praises terrorist attack in Jerusalem

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Khaled Barakat, a member of the political bureau of PFLP, calls “to support the Palestinian resistance in Gaza by all means”

Khaled Barakat, a Canadian national based in Berlin, is a member of the political bureau of the Palestinian Front for the Liberalization of Palestine (PFLP), that in 2003 was designated by Canada as a terrorist organization.

On February 3, 2016 Khaled Barakat posted on Facebook (originally in Arabic, tweet no longer accessible online):

Palestinian knives penetrate the heart of the enemy in Jerusalem. And this time they came from [the City of] Jenin [the symbol of] heroism. Long live the struggle [resistance, fight]. The uprising [fight, intifida] continues. Glory to the martyrs [in the path of Allah].

On February 3, 2016 three Palestinian assailants launched a shooting and stabbing attack near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, killing one policewoman, seriously injuring another, and lightly injuring a civilian, before being shot and killed by other security forces at the scene.

Here is an excerpt from the Jerusalem Post’s report about the attack:

A 19-year-old border policewoman was killed and another female officer critically wounded in an attack Wednesday at Damascus Gate by three Arab terrorists wielding machine guns, pipe bombs and knives. All three assailants were shot dead at the scene. Their explosives did not detonate and were later neutralized by a police bomb disposal team.

The commander of the Border Police team that killed two of the attackers said that he saw two of the terrorists shortly after 2 p.m. sitting on a bench wearing jackets, and that when he approached them they seemed to be uneasy.

He said he asked them for their identification cards, at which point one of them stood up, pulled a gun from his jacket and hit the officer over the head with the weapon.

The officer said he saw the terrorist point his gun at him and try to fire, at which point he said he pulled his service pistol and turned to see an attacker stabbing a woman on the ground.

The officer said he then shot and killed that attacker and then turned to see someone else shooting the terrorist who trained the gun on him.

A police officer at the scene said that he followed a group of people running and saw a man with a black T-shirt who he realized was one of the attackers. He said he and other officers opened fire, stopping the man.

Avshalom Peled, the deputy chief of the Jerusalem police, said that the police do not believe that the Border Police officers were the target and were likely waiting for their real target when the officer approached them…

The three terrorists have been identified as Ahmed Rajeh Zakarneh, Muhammad Ahmed Kmail, and Ahmed Najeh Abu al-Rub – all from the town of Kabatiya in the Jenin area… Hamas spokesman Hussam Badran praised the terrorists as “heroes,” noting that they had managed to travel from Jenin to Jerusalem, despite IDF checkpoints and security measures… The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist group also applauded the attack… “This operation underscores the political and security failure of the occupation in Jerusalem,” the PFLP said. “It comes in the context of the continued resistance to end the occupation and expel the settlers from our land.”