A couple in their 60s was injured – one seriously – in a Palestinian terror attack in Samaria. Earlier in the day, two Israelis were stabbed in Hebron.

In the second terrorist attack on Wednesday, gunshots were fired from a travelling vehicle in the evening at Ha’orot junction near Tulkarem, located east of Netanyah in northern Samaria.

Shortly after 7:20 p.m., Magen David Adom (MDA) received a call that a man and a woman, roughly 60 years of age, were injured on route 557 near Avnei Hefetz junction. Originally reported to be a car accident, it became apparent that a travelling vehicle had fired rounds at other cars, causing one to crash.

Paramedics provided medical assistance at the scene to the victims who were then evacuated to hospitals in the Tel Aviv district.

The couple was later identified as Shaul and Rachel Nir, residents of the Old City of Jerusalem. The attack occurred as they were on their way home after lighting Chanukah candles with their daughter, Livnat Ozeri, who lives in Avnei Hefetz in Samaria. Her husband, Netanel Ozeri, was killed by terrorists in Hebron in 2003.

Shaul is reportedly in serious condition at Beilinson hospital in Petah Tikvah, suffering head injuries. His wife, at Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, was wounded in her thigh.

The IDF immediately closed the roads in search of the terrorists, who managed to flee. Twenty-three bullet holes were found on the Nir’s car, and one of the windows was shattered.

Arabs Harass Victim at Hospital

YNET reported that fighting broke out at Meir Medical Center between a number of Arabs and Nir family members when an Arab man began ridiculing the injured woman. Police who arrived on the scene detained one of the Arabs involved in the dispute, according to the report.

Yossi Dagan, head of the Shomron Regional council, in an interview with Tazpit Press Service (TPS) condemned the decision to open the road to Palestinians just over half a year ago. “I personally came here with military and political officials and warned against opening the road, and the answer which I received was that ‘it is a good thing to open it to everyone because it will improve the economy’ and all kinds of reasons. But this is already the second time that we have experienced a shooting attack on this road.”

Dagan urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon not to abandon the communities in Samaria. “We are not second-class citizens. We deserve security like every other place in Israel. We won’t allow this abandonment to continue. We won’t allow this to happen again,” he told TPS.

The incident is the second attack of the day. This morning, a Palestinian stabbed two Israelis in Hebron. One victim, an IDF soldier, was moderately wounded in the head and upper body. The other, a civilian and the son of former Member of Knesset Orit Struk, sustained light stab wounds to his leg. They were evacuated to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

By: United with Israel Staff
(With files from TPS)