Rabbi, Father of 6, Murdered in Samaria Shooting Attack

Rabbi Raziel Shevach, a father of six children, was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Samaria. He was 35.

By: Yona Schnitzer/TPS and United with Israel Staff

Rabbi Raziel Shevach, a resident of Havat Gilad in Samaria, was murdered in a drive-by shooting on Tuesday night. He was 35.

Shortly after 8pm, the Magen David Adom (MDA) radio received reports of a shooting attack, apparently from the victim himself, who had served as an MDA volunteer.

Yael Shevach, Raziel’s widow, said he called her moments after he was shot to tell her he was hit in an attack and that she should call for help.

Paramedics from the town of Kedumim, a short drive from the scene of the attack, arrived on the scene and evacuated the victim to Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, where his death was confirmed.

“I left Kedumim in an MDA ambulance, arriving quickly at the scene. I saw on the side of the road, by the safety railing, a private vehicle with shooting markings on it,” said MDA paramedic Elyashiv Reichenberg, the first to arrive on the scene. “There was a 35-year-old semi-conscious man in the driver seat with bullet wounds in his upper body.”

Member of Knesset (MK) Bezalel Smotrich, a resident of Kedumim, was on Route 60 at the time of the shooting and stopped to administer first aid. He wrote on Twitter, “Jewish Blood is not worthless!” and called on Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman to put an end to Palestinian terrorism. “Instruct our security forces to act with an iron fist! Make it clear to the Palestinians that they will pay a very heavy price for every attack like this.”

The IDF launched a manhunt for the terror cell and boosted its forces in the region.

The Hamas terror group praised the attack, welcoming the “heroic act which serves as a response to Israel’s crimes against our people in the West Bank, in Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa mosque. All plans to weaken our resistance will fail. Israel’s government bears responsibility for the ramifications and outcome of its racist and extreme policies.”

Hussam Badaran, the terror organization’s spokesman added that the terror attack “was a slap in Israel’s face after [President Donald] Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.”

“I want to send a clear message to our enemies. We will not surrender to terror. We choose life. I want to thank the security forces and rescue teams for their service,” said Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council.

Shevach, who served as a Mohel, a ritual circumciser, is survived by his wife and six children, the oldest is 10 and the youngest is only 10 months old.

Shevach was buried at Havat Gilad (Gilad’s Ranch), named after Gilad Zar who was shot dead by Palestinian terrorists in 2001. Shevach was the first to be buried at the site, which he explicitly requested prior to his death.