Palestinian terrorist Mousa Sarsour of Qalqilya. Photo: Israel Police.

Israeli security forces arrested five suspects believed to be involved with the Palestinian suspected of killing an 84-year-old woman in the city of Holon outside of Tel Aviv.

“Terrorism is the embodiment of pure evil,” stated Prime Minister Yair Lapid. “This is a shocking attack by a despicable and cowardly terrorist who murdered an elderly woman who could not fight back.”

“We will act forcefully against terrorism,” Lapid added

The suspects, including relatives of the assailant, which were apprehended during a joint operation by the IDF, Israel Police and the Israel Security Agency in the northern West Bank town of Sarta are allegedly connected to Mousa Sarsour, the 28-year-old Palestinian who on Tuesday attacked and struck Shulamit Rachel Ovadia on her head on a street in the city of Holon.

Ovadia’s body was found dead close to her home on Tuesday night. Security camera footage helped identify Sarsour from the West Bank city of Qalqilya, which set off an extensive manhunt. After fleeing the scene, Sarsour allegedly took a bus to Tel Aviv where his dead body hanged in an abandoned building was spotted on Wednesday morning by a passerby who was on the way to synagogue. The Israel Police proclaimed Sarsour’s death as an apparent suicide.

Sarsour, who held a valid permit to enter Israel worked at a construction site near the elderly woman’s place of residence.

“We don’t believe he committed murder,” said an unnamed relative of Sarsour who was cited in the Hebrew press. “Recently, he had mental health problems due to all kinds of medication he received.”

“Mousa is a very shy and quiet person, hardly even talks to his family members. There are things we don’t understand, we will wait for the results of the investigation. We are sure that he is innocent.”