Another cluster of terror attacks on Monday sent Israeli hearts racing and Jewish blood flowing through the streets in Tel Aviv and Gush Etzion, as others ducked in trains and on the roads.
In Tel Aviv Monday afternoon, an Arab terrorist repeatedly stabbed an IDF soldier after attempting — but failing — to grab his gun. By the time Magen David Adom medics arrived, the soldier had no pulse and was not breathing. Medics miraculously managed to restore both long enough to rush the 20-year-old soldier to nearby Tel Hashomer Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition.
He succumbed to his wounds several hours later at Tel Hashomer’s Sheba Hospital.
A 59-year-old man struggled with the attacker in an attempt to stop him and was also injured in the process; he is being treated at Ichilov Hospital but is expected to be released shortly. The terrorist, a resident of Shechem (Nablus) attempted to escape but police chased him to a building a block away, where he was trapped and arrested.
Halfway across the country and barely an hour after that deadly attack, a second Arab terrorist attempted to run people over with his car at the entrance to the town of Alon Shvut. He then got out of the vehicle and began stabbing those standing nearby at the hitchhiking post.
One of three who were injured – 26-year-old Dalia Lamkus of Tekoa – died of her wounds. Lamkus was stabbed before in a 2006 terror attack in the same area, according to Israel Hatzolah. A 50-year-old man who tried to stop the terrorist is in fair condition, with stab wounds to the stomach. A third victim, approximately age 20, is listed in good condition, also with stab wounds.
The terrorist, who has been identified as Mahr Hashalmon, was alleged to be a member of Hamas and a resident of nearby Hebron, although the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attack shortly after. Hashalmon apparently spent five years in prison before he was freed in a prisoner swap deal, according to journalist Ehud Ya’ari of Israel’s Channel 2 TV. His terror spree was finally stopped by a security guard who shot him but did not kill him. The is listed in serious condition, according to Magen David Adom.
Israelis were busy ducking in vehicles driving on Route 31 as Arabs hurled rocks at Jews passing the Negev Bedouin town of Hura, home to various terror cells and lone wolf “wannabes.”
Passengers on the #384 Egged bus from Be’er Sheva to Ein Gedi were traumatized when their vehicle came under fire from stones hurled by Arabs along Route 31. One person was slightly injured but reportedly did not require medical care. The bus was replaced with a different vehicle, and police launched a search for the attackers.
Further north, another road terror attack Monday night involved Arabs hurling rocks at a bus and a police car, both with Israeli license plates, in the city of Nazareth. There were no reports of anyone physically injured in that attack.
Arabs are also attempting to experiment with “hit-and-run terror” in the Negev as well. A 20-year-old woman walking on the sidewalk in Be’er Sheva suddenly found herself to be the object of unwanted attention early Monday evening when she became the target of an attempted copycat terror attack.
Two male youths from the Negev Bedouin town of Tel Sheva attempted to run the woman over, according to Israel Hatzolah. The two teens were arrested, according to the report, and their intended victim managed to escape injury.
Commuters on the Jerusalem Light Rail, meanwhile, were “entertained” by the sight of security personnel disarming an Arab who was carrying a knife on the train. Police later told journalists the man did not attempt to stab anyone at the time the discovery was made.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro issued a statement Monday afternoon severely condemning the attack in Tel Aviv (Nov. 10) — the first in the wave of terror that moved through the country on Monday — saying flatly that Arab terror is just plain wrong.
“There is no justification for violence and terror,” Shapiro said. “I wish for a speedy recovery for the soldier.”
Moreover, the escalating attacks on Israelis by Arab terrorists around the country have nothing to do with Arab rage over stagnant final status talks with the Palestinian Authority, as foreign officials and PA leaders keep claiming, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Monday afternoon.
Speaking at a Likud faction meeting Monday after an IDF soldier was repeatedly stabbed in a terror attack near a Tel Aviv train station, Netanyahu said those who incite to terrorism “do not want us anywhere” – including in Tel Aviv.
“We will fight incitement by the Palestinian Authority and radical Islam, and fight those calling to destroy us,” the prime minister vowed.
Knesset Interior Committee chairperson MK Miri Regev (Likud) called on the prime minister to continue with his “hands on” approach to the issue of terrorism across the country.
“The government has to decide on an action plan to restore a sense of personal security to the citizens of Israel,” Regev said.
She called on the public to maintain alertness in the face of recent events, and urged an increased presence in police and security personnel throughout the country.
Regev also called on the justice system to ensure that convicted terrorists receive “severe” punishment. “We must eradicate terror, and at the same time send a clear, unequivocal message” no one is above the law, she said.
Likud MK Danny Danon became one of the first Knesset members to finally, officially use the “I” word at the public microphone.
“We are in an intifada,” Danon told reporters. “I call on the prime minister and the public security minister to make it clear to our enemies who is sovereign in the State of Israel.”
Like Miri Regev, meanwhile, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai also called for heightened awareness on the part of his city’s residents, although he made it clear that no one should change their daily routine.
“Like Jerusalem, Tel Aviv is also a symbol, and a target that terrorists always seek to strike,” Huldai warned. “Unfortunately the deadlock in the diplomatic negotiations and the absence of any vision in this area will only increase the violent situation,” he said.
Bayit Yehudi party chairman and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, on the other hand, slammed the government over the spate of recent attacks.