Four people were wounded in a late-night terror attack Monday off Highway 60 near the Jewish community of Shvut Rachel, located east of Shiloh in the Binyamin region, about 45 kilometers north of Jerusalem.
All four are residents of the Binyamin region and range in age from 20 to 27 years old. Local sources told JewishPress.com the passengers were able to return fire in the midst of the attack despite their wounds.
The victims were shot multiple times, their car door riddled with bullet holes. A medivac helicopter was dispatched to the scene, where they were first treated by emergency response personnel. Two were rushed to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center and are now reported in stable condition with moderate wounds; two were taken to Sheba Hospital at Tel Hashomer Medical Center in Ramat Gan.
The attackers reportedly drove by their victims and opened fire as they passed them on the road in the Binyamin region, east of Shiloh. Seven or more shots were fired at the rental car in which the victims were driving northbound at the time.
The IDF has launched a search in the area for the attackers.
An outraged Acting Shomron (Samaria) Regional Council head, Yossi Dagan, pointed to a steadily escalating increase in “serious terror attacks” in a statement to media following the shooting.
“[These include] the stabbing of the soldier this morning at Rachel’s Tomb, the shooting on the MDA ambulance on Highway 60 over the weekend, Molotov cocktail being thrown at buses, and the cold-blooded murder of Danny Gonen near Dolev,” he said.
“We must stop this phenomenon before things deteriorate further. We will not allow terrorists to harm our citizens and we demand the Israeli government to allow the IDF to act without mercy against those savages who are turning civilians into targets,” he demanded.
“The term ‘trickle’ with regards to terrorism is a lie. We are not willing to get used to this situation in Judea and Samaria as it happens, and has been happening for years with the rocket fire in the south,” he added.