Ten Years After Killing Two Israeli Soldiers, Palestinian Terrorist Arrested After Entering Israel to Donate Bone Marrow
Palestinian terrorist Abdallah Daghmeh. Photo: Shin Bet.
A Palestinian terrorist from Gaza has been arrested and charged with the 2010 murder of two Israeli soldiers after he entered Israel to donate bone marrow to his brother.
According to Israeli public broadcaster Kan, Abdallah Daghmeh, 38, was charged in Beersheva District Court on Sunday with involvement in the killing of Maj. Eliraz Peretz and Staff Sgt. Ilan Sviatkovsky, as well as membership in a terrorist organization.
The attack took place on March 26, 2010, in which IDF troops were drawn into a trap by a terror cell that pretended to be planting a bomb. When the soldiers converged on the scene, the terrorists opened fire, killing Peretz and Sviatkovsky.
Daghmeh was captured after he sought to enter Israel in order to donate bone marrow to his brother, Israeli news website Mako reported.
His request for entry into Israel was submitted for security approval, during which Israel’s domestic intelligence agency the Shin Bet recognized Daghmeh’s name. The Shin Bet then allowed Daghmeh to enter Israel and donate the bone marrow, after which he was arrested.
Daghmeh reportedly said that the incident was so long ago that he didn’t realize he was still wanted by Israeli authorities.
“I did not know I was wanted in Israel,” he said. “I fell into the trap. I hope I saved my brother’s life.”
During interrogation, Daghmeh confessed to the killings and described his extensive training for the attack.
Peretz’s older brother Uriel was killed in Lebanon in 1998. The two men’s mother Miriam received the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement in 2018 for her work advocating for Zionism and Israel.
According to Kan, the Shin Bet contacted Miriam before announcing Daghmeh’s arrest, and she thanked them for their persistence in bringing her son’s killer to justice.