A view of Hebron. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Tayseer Abu Sneineh, a convicted Palestinian terrorist who killed six Israeli yeshiva students, was elected mayor of the city of Hebron on Saturday. Sneineh headed the Palestinian Fatah party’s candidate list in Hebron’s municipal elections.

In 1980, Sneineh, along with four other Palestinians, opened fire and hurled grenades at a group of yeshiva students who were on their way to Hebron’s Beit Hadassah neighborhood from the Cave of the Patriarchs. Six Jewish students, including two dual American-Israeli citizens and a Canadian national, were murdered in the terror attack, and as many as 20 more Israeli students were injured.

The Palestinian terrorists were convicted of murder and each were sentenced to life in prison, but were released in several prisoner exchange deals with Israel during the 1980s. Sneineh was released in 1983.

In response to Sneineh’s election, Consul General of Israel in New York Dani Dayan tweeted, “His previous career achievements? He assassinated 6 six Jewish students.”

Davidi Ben Sion, deputy head of the Shomron Regional Council, noted that during US President Donald Trump’s visit to Israel this month, the American leader “is likely to push for some kind of diplomatic process between Israel and the Arabs, the same Arabs who today elected a mayor and a murderer.”

“Mr. President…If you have self-respect, reconsider your visit to [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas, who denies the Holocaust and encourages murder,” Ben Sion said, the Jerusalem Post reported.