IDF soldier stabbed and killed in terror attack on Route 443, north of Jerusalem
The suspected terrorist was shot and killed.
By TOVAH LAZAROFF, LAHAV HARKOVUpdated: NOVEMBER 24, 2015 05:52Scene of stabbing attack on Route 443(photo credit: MEDABRIM TIKSHORET)
A Palestinian terrorist on Monday afternoon stabbed to death Israeli soldier Ziv Mizrahi at the Dor Alon gas station along Route 443 in the West Bank, which is a main artery that leads to Jerusalem. Two others were lightly wounded in the attack.Another soldier at the gas station immediately shot and killed the Palestinian.Mizrahi was the fifth such fatality in the West Bank in the last five days. On Sunday, a Palestinian stabbed and killed Hadar Buchris, 21, at a bus stop at the Gush Etzion junction.Last Thursday, Palestinian gunmen killed three people at that same intersection.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for Israelis to be patient and brave in the long battle against terrorism.“We are in a persistent war against terrorism by individuals who are exposed to incitement, mainly on social media,” Netanyahu told the Likud faction in the Knesset after visiting the Gush Etzion region earlier in the day.“It is expressed sometimes in shootings, but mostly through knives, scissors, ramming attacks and other means that unfortunately cost a heavy price, including today.”The battle against terrorism requires “patience, courage and persistence,” Netanyahu said, but expressed certainty that it will be won.However, opposition leader Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) said Netanyahu is not doing enough to fight terrorism.“This government has no direction,” he said at a Zionist Union faction meeting. “I hope we overcome terrorism.
To do so, we have to show strength and determination and think creatively.”The IDF sent reinforcements to Route 443 following the attack.Magen David Adom paramedic Uri Gabriel, who arrived at the scene, said he found a young man lying on the ground with multiple stab wounds to the upper part of his body.“He didn’t have a heartbeat, it wasn’t beating,” Gabriel said. They were unable to revive him and they pronounced his death at the scene.A truck driver who was putting gas in his vehicle saw a Palestinian man lunge at the soldier and stab him. He also stabbed a second soldier standing next to him, before he was killed.The truck driver said he ran to the soldier to try and help him, but was unable to stop his bleeding. He himself was lightly injured by fragments from the shooting.Mizrahi, 18, from the Givat Ze’ev settlement located next to the Dor Alon gas station, was a driver in an army unit that operates surveillance balloons.This was the second time his family has been victimized by Palestinian terrorists.In 2003, Mizrahi’s uncle, Alon, was among seven people who were killed in the suicide bombing attack in Cafe Hillel on Rehov Emek Refaim in Jerusalem.Alon, 22, was the coffee shop’s security guard.Separately, an Israeli was lightly injured Monday when a car driven by a Palestinian hit him as he stood on the side of the road. The driver fled and it is unclear to the IDF if it was a terrorist attack or an accident.Ziv Mizrachi will be buried at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem on Tuesday at 1 p.m.