The terrorist who stabbed four people in Tel Aviv’s Nahalat Binyamin neighborhood on Tuesday had passed two security checks by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), Walla reported Wednesday.
Kadi Abdel Aziz, a Moroccan citizen with US permanent residency, had applied for a visa at an Israeli consulate abroad, and the Shin Bet ran background and security checks as part of his application process, the report said.
Aziz landed at Ben-Gurion Airport and was initially denied entry by border control officers and sent to be interviewed by a Shin Bet officer, who allowed him to enter Israel.
Interior Minister Moshe Arbel (Shas) called on Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar “to investigate the serious incident and draw lessons from it as soon as possible.”
US-Moroccan citizen
The Shin Bet on Tuesday said its assessments had not raised any red flags, and there were no security concerns to prevent Aziz from entering the country. Nevertheless, it said the case would be investigated.
A US residency permit and a border control ticket were found on Aziz’s body, indicating that he had entered Israel on a tourist visa on January 18, Israeli media outlets reported.
The Israel Police confirmed that Aziz was killed at the scene of the attack after reportedly being shot by civilians. He was believed to have acted alone.
Aziz was thwarted by an IDF officer who was previously wounded in combat in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media outlets reported.