Scene of terror attack in Kiryat Arba
Scene of terror attack in Kiryat ArbaIsrael news photo: David Wilder

The father of a terrorist who tried to murder two Jews a week ago intends to sue the husband of one of the victims.

The terrorist had stabbed Tamar Mizrahi and a second victim, a man, at the gas station located at the entrance to Kiryat Arba-Hevron. Both were evacuated to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Jerusalem. Tamar's husband David ran the attacker over after he had been shot by a soldier from the Nachson Regiment and by a local guard. The terrorist later died of his wounds, and his father said he will sue David.

"Could such a sweetheart like this do something bad? I don't believe it," his father told Channel 2 TV news Saturday evening. He said he didn't believe his son had committed a terror attack.

Mizrahi was seen driving his car over the terrorist who stabbed his wife, and has since been charged on suspicion of attempted murder.

David Mizrahi and his wife Tamar have been victims of tragedy prior to this attack, having already lost two of their three children in the past. Their oldest son was killed two years ago in a tragic auto collision in Gush Etzion; the truck that hit their car was driven by Palestinian Authority Arab. A few months later, their second child, a daughter, was discovered shot in the head in their home in the community of Tzur Hadassah.

Maya, their third and only remaining child, is working hard to keep her father strong. She said she is furious at the intention to try her father on charges of attempted murder: "No one knows what our family has gone through," she told Channel 2 TV news.

Highway 60: Major Artery and Death Trap

The gas station where the terror attack took place is located at a turnoff on Highway 60, a major artery which winds throughout the entire region of Judea, but which is increasingly less patrolled, as the government reduces its security presence in areas controlled even partially by the Palestinian Authority.

There have been numerous terror attacks at similar spots along this road, including a murderous rampage at the nearby Gush Etzion hitchhikers' stop in October 2005. Three young people lost their lives when a car filled with terrorists sprayed gunfire at the crowd of youths waiting for rides home, and drove away.

In addition, Arabs have continued to hurl rocks and firebombs at motorists almost daily as they drive along the highway. Despite the army "pillboxes" placed at strategic spots, the IDF has been unable to prevent the attacks, and both Jews and Israeli Arabs have been wounded.

Highway 60 is the only access road that connects the Jewish communities of Judea with the capital. Despite its importance, there are long stretches of highway without lighting, making the narrow, two-lane highway a death trap in more ways than one as it snakes its way through the hilly region.

In addition, the road is a major artery that directly connects Jerusalem with Route 31, which connects to Be'er Sheva and to Arad in the northeastern Negev, reducing travel time from two hours to 75 minutes.