Israel Sees Surge in Terror Attacks during Ramadan
JERUSALEM, Israel -- There's been an upsurge in terror attacks in Israel since the beginning of the Muslim month of Ramadan nearly two weeks ago.
One of two Israelis critically injured in separate terror attacks on Monday died late Tuesday. The second remains hospitalized.
Acting head of the Shomron Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, pleaded with the government to "stop this phenomenon before things deteriorate even further."
"We have recently witnessed an alarming upsurge in serious acts of terrorism: the stabbing of the soldier at Rachel's Tomb this morning, the shooting on an ambulance on Highway 60 over the weekend, throwing firebombs on buses and the cold-blooded murder of Danny Gonen near the town of Dolev," Arutz Sheva quoted Dagan.
In a drive-by shooting Monday, terrorists opened fire on a car near Shvut Rachel in Samaria, north of Ramallah, wounding four passengers, one critically, returning home from a basketball game.
Israeli security forces are still searching for the gunmen they believe may be part of a terror cell.
The critically injured passenger, Malachi Rosenfeld, 26, later died at Jerusalem's Shaare Zedek hospital. Rosenfeld's parents and a friend, who sustained four bullet wounds to his legs, asked for prayer.
Speaking with Army Radio, Yair Ofer said they saw a car slowing down just before shots were fired at them from inside the car. He said they fired "until their magazine was empty."
"We need to be safe in our country, in every place in the country," the Jerusalem Post quoted him. "A Jew needs to feel safe in his country."
"A terrorist needs to understand he has a lot to lose," he continued. "Today he knows that if he's caught for his actions, he will go to jail, receive money from the Palestinian Authority, and will be freed and regarded as a hero, even if he has killed children or babies."
In a separate attack Monday at a checkpoint near Rachel's Tomb, an Arab woman armed with several knives stabbed a female soldier in the neck. She also remains in critical condition.
Earlier the same day, terrorists threw rocks at a school bus transporting children to the Mount of Olives. A similar incident took place last week in the Jordan Valley when masked men attacked a bus full of children on an outing, smashing windows and terrorizing the kids.
Over the weekend, an ambulance driver narrowly escaped injury in a drive-by shooting on Route 60 near Beit El. Three bullet holes were found on the ambulance, but thankfully the driver escaped uninjured.
According to Israeli media, security forces suspect the same cell may be responsible for the shooting death of Danny Gonen, 25, killed at point blank range as he and a friend returned from an outing to a spring 10 days ago near Dolev, northwest of Jerusalem.
In that attack, an Arab pretending to need help flagged them down before opening fire on them with a handgun, killing Gonen and seriously wounding his friend.
