Terrorist Shot Attacking Yitzhar
Terrorist Shot Attacking Yitzhar

The Israel Defense Forces and Border Police successfully thwarted an attempt by an Arab terrorist to attack the Jewish community of Yitzhar in Samaria, and shot the terrorist dead. An IDF lookout identified the terrorist early Saturday morning as he made his way from the village of Asira al-Kabaliya toward the town.



The video below, released by the IDF, shows the young terrorist carrying a firebomb. He seems to drop it at a certain point, causing it to catch fire. He was shot dead. Security forces found a knife on his body.



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The terrorist, Suheib Salah, 15, was the brother of Ahmed Salah, who carried out a shooting attack in Yitzhar in June of 2002, wounding four soldiers, two of them seriously, before he was killed.

The residents of Yitzhar issued a statement thanking the IDF and Border Police and congratulating them for the "determined, professional and quick action to eliminate the terrorist."

Saturday night (Melave Malka) celebration in Yitzhar. 20/9/2008

David HaIvri

IDF Commander 'Lazy'?

"The attempt today by terrorists from Asira to penetrate the Shalhevet neighborhood in Yitzhar, for the second time in eight days, shows that the reaction by Yitzhar's residents last Shabbat was the right thing to do," the statement said. However, it noted, the incident "also shows that the IDF has not, in the course of the past week, taken sufficient preventive steps to eliminate or reduce the motivation of the terrorists in Asira, either by preventive detention, searches, targeted interrogations, distancing orders or administrative detention."

OC Central Command, Gadi Shamni, "knows very well how to use these draconian measures against the residents of Yitzhar, but he is lazy about using them against murderous terrorists," the residents said.

The Samaria Jewish Residents Council demanded an apology from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for what it called "the media pogrom" against Yitzhar. "It is time for the government to push for an eviction–compensation law for Arab marauders," the council statement read.

The Homesh First Headquarters called the terror attack "the Arab gift in return for the radical leftist groups' incitement a week ago." The radical Left and the terror groups have become two sides of the same coin, the Homesh First organization claimed; "One hand holds the fire bombs and the knives, and the other holds the microphone and incites against the Jewish victims."

Melave Malka in Yitzhar

Saturday evening a Melave Malka (End of Sabbath) musical event was held in Yitzhar in gratitude to the A-lmighty for saving residents in the terrorist attacks.

The Samaria International Liaison Office has opened a special fund to help rebuild the home of the Ben Shlomo family in Yitzhar that was burned down in last week's terror attack. Those interested in helping can contact the office at [email protected].

Two Arabs were also nabbed by security forces Saturday evening in Dahariya, near Hevron, after they threw rocks at IDF and police forces that raided the Judean village. Several vehicles were damaged but no one was hurt.

In Gush Etzion, Arabs threw firebombs at Israeli-licensed vehicles near Migdal Oz. No one was hurt. A suspicious object was identified, however, and a Border Police bomb squad was alerted.