The governor of Hebron (center), visiting the mourning tent for the terrorist killed after slaughtering 13-year-old Hallel Ariel. Photo: Facebook.

A Palestinian Authority official closely associated with President Mahmoud Abbas arrived at the mourning tent of the family whose son slaughtered a 13-year-old Israeli girl in her Kiryat Arba bedroom on Thursday morning to pay his respects on behalf of the PA, the Hebrew news site Walla reported on Sunday.

According to the report, the tent was funded by the PA, and flags of Fatah, the faction headed by Abbas, were flying overhead, like a tribute to the 19-year-old who was killed by members of the volunteer rescue team that did not make it in time to save Hallel Yaffa Ariel’s life.

Nevertheless, the report said, residents of Bani Naim, the West Bank hometown of 19-year-old terrorist Muhammed Taraiyre, all denied that PA incitement – or upbringing — was behind the brutal murder.

“Muhammed is responsible for his actions – not the family,” the terrorist’s uncle told Walla, when asked whether parents and relatives condemn the slaying. “Young people today read things on Facebook, hear what their friends are saying and then do something. But that was up to him.”

He continued: “Nobody wants his son to commit such as act. But you have to understand: he didn’t belong to any organization – not to Hamas and not to Fatah. He never made extremist statements against Jews or anybody else. He left school that day and worked in a bakery in Dura, where he slept the night before the attack. He didn’t speak to his family about his intentions.”

Nor, said the uncle, does he understand why the terrorist’s sister was taken in for questioning by Israeli security services.

The mayor of Bani Naim, Mahmoud Manasra, said that PA officials have been attempting to calm the young people down. “These are spontaneous terrorist attacks, carried out by individuals,” he told Walla. “These young people don’t consult with or talk to anybody about [their intentions].”

As The Algemeiner reported, however, official PA channels and the mother of the terrorist hailed him as a hero and a “shahid” [martyr].

First, the PA Health Ministry issued the following death notice about Taraiyre: “We are officially announcing the death of the youth, Muhammed Nasser Taraiyre, 19, from the town of Bani Naim, after the occupation fired on him near the settlement of Charsina northeast of Hebron.”

Meanwhile, as was reported by Palestinian Media Watch, Fatah’s official Facebook page promptly posted a picture of Taraiyre and also declared him a “shahid.” PMW also noted that the PA’s news agency, WAFA, also honored Taraiyre as a martyr, and — in an interview with a local Hebron news network — his mother said: “My son is a hero. He made me proud. My son died as a Martyr defending Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, he [my son] has joined the Martyrs before him, and he is not better than them. Allah willing, all of them will follow this path, all the youth of Palestine. Allah be praised.”

PMW pointed out that, in accordance with PA law, Taraiyre’s family will now begin receiving a monthly stipend — something that is paid to all families of “martyrs.”

In addition, PMW last week revealed comments made by senior Abbas adviser and Fatah Central Committee member Sultan Abu Al-Einein, who said: “If you would ask me about my personal position, I would tell you — every place you find an Israeli, cut off his head. Likewise, I am against talks, negotiations, meetings and normalization in all its forms with the Israeli occupation.”

Taraiyre is not the first resident of Bani Naim to have carried out a terrorist attack. Last week, a girl from the village committed a car-ramming attack, and was killed by Israeli security forces.

Taraiyre then dedicated a poem to her on Facebook.

The day after Taraiyre stabbed Ariel to death, a young girl from his family tried to stab a Border Police officer at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.

A number of hours after Ariel’s killing in Kiryat Arba, two Israelis were wounded in a Palestinian stabbing attack at the outdoor market in Netanya. Then, on Friday, Rabbi Michael (Miki) Mark was killed — and his wife and two of his 10 children were injured — in a drive-by shooting on Route 60 in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). As The Algemeiner reported, Mark’s funeral took place on Sunday.