Released for publication: Two IDF soldiers in their twenties were hurt Saturday evening in the third terrorist attack in less than a month to take place in the Palestinian Authority hotbed town of Huwara.
The two soldiers were attacked by terrorists who fired at an IDf military post on Route 60 in Huwara.
Route 60 is the main north-south artery that travels through the town, south of Shechem, from Afula, in northern Israel, all the way south to Be’er Sheva.
Israelis are forced to travel to and from their homes in Samaria directly through the center of the hostile Arab town because no bypass road exists.
Both wounded men were taken to Beilinson Medical Center (Rabin Medical Center) in Petach Tikva for medical care.
The terrorist allegedly fired from a passing vehicle before making his escape.
IDF troops immediately shut down Route 60 and several other roads in the area as they searched for the gunman.
On February 26, two brothers from a Jewish town in Samaria were murdered by a Palestinian Authority terrorist as they sat in traffic on Route 60 in Huwara. Two weeks later, on March 19, Samaria resident David Stern and his wife Rachel were likewise attacked by a terrorist as they drove through the town. Stern, who was armed, managed to shoot back despite his wounds, and injured the terrorist, who fled the scene. The attacker was arrested by Israeli forces shortly after. Stern was seriously wounded, but survived the attack along with his wife.
Saturday night’s attack took place on the first weekend of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which began this past Thursday and is typically a period in which Palestinian Authority terrorists escalate their efforts to slaughter Israelis.
More than a dozen Israelis have been murdered by Arab terrorists since the start of this calendar year, along with 86 Palestinian Authority citizens, the vast majority of them fugitive terrorists during attacks on Israelis and others who refused to surrender during arrest operations.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for prayers for the recovery of the injured in a statement following Saturday evening’s attack, and asked to convene the government cabinet and make decisions “immediately” upon the return of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who spent Friday and Shabbat in London for talks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
“IDF soldiers and Israeli settlers travel on terror-stricken roads, especially in Huwara, and it is time to restore order there,” Ben Gvir said.
“We need to build permanent barriers, close shops that pose a risk, and create order in that city or the next attack is only a matter of time.”
Late Saturday evening, the IDF shut down all the shops along the road.
