Fadi Qunbar (1988-8 January 2017) was an Islamic State member from Palestine who, on 8 January 2017, killed 4 Israeli soldiers and wounded 21 in a vehicular attack in Jerusalem, Israel. al-Qanbar was previously a PFLP member who had been imprisoned by the Israeli government, and he was radicalized after being interned.
Biography[]
Fadi al-Qanbar was born in the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood of East Jerusalem, Palestine in 1988, and he became a husband and a father of four. al-Qanbar was believed to have once been a member of the socialist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) movement, and he was imprisoned for ten years due to his role in Palestinian terrorism. After his release, he espoused the ultra-conservative Salafist school of Islam, and he became an Islamic State sympathizer. On the morning of 8 January 2017, al-Qanbar left his house, and his wife asked him to return for lunch; however, al-Qanbar told her that he had work to do. al-Qanbar entered a large truck and rammed into a crowd of Israeli soldiers in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood, killing 4 (including three female soldiers) and wounding 21. al-Qanbar was then gunned down by IDF soldiers and the civilian tour guide, ending his rampage. After his death, news outlets described him as either an IS sympathizer or a PFLP member, and his actions were praised by Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas; Hamas called for an escalation of violence against Israelis, while the PIJ said that the attack was a natural response to Israeli violence against Palestinians.