Murder of Reuven Shmerling

On October 4, 2017, the day before the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, Reuven Shmerling, a 70-year-old man from Elkana, was found dead in a warehouse he owned in an industrial zone of Kfar Qasim, an Arab-Israeli city. His son discovered the body after the family could not reach him by phone. Shmerling had been stabbed and bludgeoned, and initial reports suspected the killing stemmed from a monetary dispute before authorities reclassified it as a suspected terrorist attack.

Four days after the body was found, on October 8, 2017, two Palestinian men from the village of Qabatiya in the West Bank were arrested in connection with the murder. The Shin Bet placed details of the investigation under a gag order while pursuing it as a terror case. On October 15, 2017, Shmerling was officially declared a victim of terror.

The suspects, identified in Palestinian media as Youssef Khaled Mustafa Kamil (20) and Mohammed Zeyad Abu al-Rob (19), had entered Israel illegally and were working without permits for Shmerling's son at the warehouse, where they also lived. According to the account reconstructed from the investigation, the two purchased a knife which they hid under their mattress, and on the day of the killing used a ruse to lure Shmerling into their room. One suspect stabbed Shmerling while he attempted to defend himself with a chair, and the other struck him with a chair as the stabbing continued; the attack also involved a pickax and a fan, and one of the men filmed Shmerling on the ground. Blood attributed to both suspects was found on the fan and knife. The men reportedly stated they carried out the attack to avenge a friend, Ahmad Abu Al-Roub, who died attempting a stabbing attack during the 2017 Temple Mount crisis.

On October 29, 2017, the two suspects were indicted in Lod District Court on charges of entering Israel illegally and premeditated murder. The indictment stated that the accused caused Shmerling's death "with the intention of killing a Jew because he is Jewish, and because they were angry at him for their work conditions." Israeli forces searched the suspects' homes in Qabatiya on October 6, 2017, and protests followed. The family of one suspect was later notified that their home was slated for demolition. Additional suspected accomplices were arrested from Qabatiya on November 1, 2017.

Shmerling was married to his wife Chana, was a father of four, owned a coal business, and was described as a descendant of the Alter Rebbe, Shneur Zalman of Liadi. Approximately 1,200 people attended his funeral. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin visited the family, as did a delegation including the Kfar Qasim mayor and members of the Knesset. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on social media that authorities would "do everything to bring to justice those who committed this shocking murder."

The perpetrators said their attack was motivated by the killing of an acquaintance from their hometown, one of three Palestinian men who fatally shot Israeli policewoman Hadar Cohen at Jerusalem's Damascus Gate in February 2016 before being killed by police.