Dia’ Hamarsha

Their life

Dia’ Hamarsha, 27, was a Palestinian man from the town of Ya’bad, located west of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank. On March 30, 2022, he was shot and killed by an Israeli police officer after allegedly carrying out a shooting attack in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv. The incident reportedly resulted in the deaths of five people, including an Israeli police officer and two Ukrainian nationals. Israeli sources identified Hamarsha as the assailant and stated that he used an assault rifle during the attack. He had previously spent six months in Israeli prison in 2013. Following the incident, Israeli forces launched raids around Ya’bad, and settler violence against Palestinians escalated across the West Bank.

Dia’ Hamarsha, aged 27, was a Palestinian resident of Ya’bad, a town situated west of Jenin in the northern part of the occupied West Bank. On March 30, 2022, he was killed by Israeli police after allegedly conducting a fatal shooting in Bnei Brak, a suburb east of Tel Aviv, Israel. According to Israeli reports, the attack resulted in the deaths of five individuals: three Israelis—including a police officer—and two Ukrainian nationals. Israeli sources claimed that Hamarsha moved through multiple locations, using an assault rifle to fire at pedestrians, a cyclist, and a vehicle before being fatally shot by Israeli police officer Amir Khouri, who was also killed during the confrontation.

In 2013, Dia’ was imprisoned by Israeli authorities and served six months in detention, though the charges against him during that time are not publicly detailed. Following the Bnei Brak attack, Israeli forces surrounded and isolated Ya’bad, deployed heavily in surrounding areas, and initiated a wide-scale manhunt. Additionally, violent reprisals by illegal Israeli settlers were reported across the West Bank, with attacks on Palestinian homes, cars, and individuals.

While Israeli officials portrayed Dia’ as the perpetrator of a deadly attack, the broader political and military context—marked by a surge in violence, occupation, and repression—underscores the cycles of unrest and retaliation in the region. His case remains controversial and reflects ongoing tensions between Israeli authorities and Palestinians under occupation.

How they died

Shot and killed by an Israeli police officer during an alleged shooting incident in Bnei Brak.

Dia’ Hamarsha was killed by Israeli police on March 30, 2022, after allegedly carrying out a shooting attack that killed five people in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv. According to Israeli sources, Hamarsha was armed with an assault rifle and moved between two locations, shooting civilians and a police officer who tried to stop him. He was ultimately shot dead by that officer, Amir Khouri, during the confrontation. The circumstances surrounding the incident remain based largely on Israeli police narratives, with no independent Palestinian investigation, and his body was left at the scene before being taken by Israeli authorities.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Dia’ Hamarsha, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources