Father of terrorist who killed Ron Kukia asks for forgiveness

Odeh Abu Judeh, the father of Khaled Abu Judeh who killed Kukia in the southern city of Arad, said on Thursday that, “in the name of the Abu Judeh family, I ask for forgiveness. We condemn all physical and verbal violence. We ask forgiveness from the Kukia family.

“We are loyal to the state, we have cousins who died for the state,” Odeh continued. “This was a deplorable act by a deplorable person. We didn’t believe that from our house came a person that killed a soldier. A whole sector didn’t do this. The state blames all of us, and we have been loyal since its founding.”

Nahal Brigade soldier Sgt. Ron Yitzhak Kukia, 19, was stabbed in the throat while waiting for a bus outside an Arad shopping mall. His Tavor assault rifle was also taken by the attackers.

The two suspected attackers, Arab citizens of Israel, were arrested the day after the attack. The two men, Khaled and Zawin Abu Judeh, were residents of an unrecognized Bedouin village in the Negev. While they had no criminal record, the investigation revealed that Khaled identifies with various terrorist organizations and that he harbors extremist beliefs.

Khaled admitted to carrying out the attack, “out of a desire to do something on behalf of the Palestinians, and as revenge for IDF activities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” the Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said.