The IDF and Shin Bet believe a fatal car-ramming incident in Samaria by a local Palestinian was a hit-and-run but did not rule out terrorism.
On Thursday evening, a woman who was critically injured in a car-ramming attack in northern Samaria, near Havat Gilad, died of her wounds.
The 42-year-old victim was identified as Hava Roizen, a Russian immigrant from the nearby community of Immanuel, who was hit while crossing Route 60. Paramedics performed CPR but failed to revive her.
The 63-year-old driver reportedly fled in the direction of the adjacent Palestinian village of Jit. He later turned himself in to Palestinian police, claiming he had hit the woman by accident and that he was not a terrorist.
He is currently under Palestinian custody.
Following an initial investigation, the IDF and Shin Bet believe the incident was a hit-and-run but did not rule out the possibility that it was a terror attack.
Yossi Dagan, the head of the Samaria Regional Council, disagrees.
“The junction is lighted… there are no signs of an attempt to stop—not before the spot and not after, meaning the driver was not surprised by the crash” he noted, according to Ynet.
“As far as we’re concerned, this is a serious terror attack, a cold-blooded murder, of a residents of the Samaria on a central road in the State of Israel,” Dagan stated.
“This is a very difficult incident. All motives are being checked. We, the residents of Samaria, will continue to be strong and sanctify life,” he said.