Three Murdered in Samaria Shooting Attack

The scene of a shooting attack near Kdumim in northern Samaria on Jan. 6, 2024. Credit: MDA MDA

First responders said the three people killed were two women in their 60s and a man in his 40s. Two others were reportedly injured seriously and moderately, while another five suffered mild injuries.

By TPS and JNS

Three people were killed and seven injured when Arab terrorists opened fire on a bus and other vehicles in the village of Al-Funduq, near the community of Kedumim in Samaria on Monday.

Killed in the attack were two women in their 60s and a man in his 40s. The man was found by his car in a gully off the road.

“I was near the location and was notified about a serious accident. I arrived at the scene and found an unconscious driver who had crashed his vehicle into rocks. While treating the driver, we were told that he had attempted to carry out a ramming attack and was neutralized by gunfire, which caused him to lose control of his vehicle and become seriously injured,” said United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Meir Yaari.

MDA added that the bus driver and a 63-year-old man are in serious condition, a woman in her 60s is in moderate condition, and five other victims suffered mild injuries.

The Israel Defense Forces cordoned off the area and launched a manhunt.

Israeli authorities aim to start construction of a road to bypass the hostile Samaria village of Al-Funduq in the coming weeks, the Samaria Regional Council said on Thursday.

The first phase of the Al-Funduq bypass road includes the western section of the route towards the city of Karnei Shomron.

“The Al-Funduq bypass road is part of the revolution of bypass roads in Samaria,” Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan explained in a statement. “The Huwara bypass, the Al-Lubban bypass, the Al-Arub bypass, and now here in Al-Funduq. This is a major route through which hundreds of thousands pass every week, and this road will significantly improve security and the quality of life.

“Our answer to heinous terrorism is the building of the land,” the local leader continued. “We will strengthen security here on this road, we will continue to develop the settlement [of Judea and Samaria], and with G-d’s help, together we will reach a million residents in Samaria.”

The new road around Al-Funduq was approved by the Israel Defense Forces as part of the “lessons learned” after the Feb. 26, 2023, terrorist murder of brothers Hallel and Yagel Yaniv in a shooting attack on the part of Route 60 that passed through the Samaria village of Huwara, near Nablus.

On the night of the attack, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox, the then-head of IDF Central Command, reportedly granted the Samaria Regional Council’s request to carve out a dirt road upon which the bypass would be based.

In October 2022, a terrorist from Al-Funduq stabbed Kedumim resident Shalom Sofer, 55, as he exited a store in the adjacent Palestinian town. Sofer succumbed to the wounds sustained in the attack on Nov. 8, 2022.

Eighteen years ago, Ido Zoldan, 29, from Shavei Shomron, was murdered when Arab terrorists opened fire at him from a passing car in Al-Funduq.

United with Israel contributed to this report.