Jerusalem Attacker Praised as 'Martyr' at his Funeral in Israeli Arab City

JERUSALEM, Israel – The Israeli Arab city of Umm al-Fahm has long been a hotbed of discontent that's produced jihadists who've carried out terror attacks against Jewish Israelis.

Following last Friday's Muslim prayers on the Temple Mount, a resident of Umm al-Fahm, Ahmad Mohammed Mahamid, 31, stabbed a Border Police officer. Before he could use his weapon again, he was shot and killed.  

Afterward, his family said he was mentally ill and could have been restrained rather than neutralized, according to media reports. Many Israelis have been killed in similar stabbing attacks.

Last March, the Knesset passed a law allowing authorities to withhold the bodies of terrorists killed during an attack ostensibly to prevent their funerals from being used to fan incitement.  

When Israel Police agreed to release Mahamid's body for burial, they set conditions with his family they hoped would be followed.

Police asked them to limit attendees to 150 family and friends, specifically to avoid another mass demonstration. That's happened too many times in the past, which is why the government thinks twice about returning the bodies of terrorists killed during an attack.

But that's exactly what took place Monday in Um al-Fahm. Thousands showed up at the funeral procession, waving Palestinian Authority flags, calling for the destruction of Israel, and chanting "in spirit and blood we redeem the martyr [shahid]."

A police spokesman, quoted by Arutz Sheva, said an investigation into the incident has been opened. In response to claims by the family and Umm al-Fahm municipality, an Israeli official, quoted by the Times of Israel, said, "No one can expect policemen to know a terrorist who is attacking them with a knife is mentally ill."

It's not atypical for followers of Islam to say one thing and mean another.

Prolific Christian author and lecturer Raymond Ibrahim is a foremost expert on Islamic ideology. In a 2012 post entitled Tawriya: 'Creative Lying' Advocated in Islam, Ibrahim explains different categories of lying in Islamic doctrine.

"Deceit and lying may be far more ingrained in the [Muslim] culture than previously thought," Ibrahim wrote before explaining exactly what that means.

While details of Monday's demonstration in Umm al-Fahm have yet to be fully disclosed, it appears the family may have said one thing to Israeli authorities and another to their friends and neighbors.