Rabbi Yehoshua Weitzman at the hospital
Rabbi Yehoshua Weitzman at the hospitalArutz Sheva Staff

Rabbi Yehoshua Weitzman, dean of the northern Ma'alot hesder yeshiva integrating Torah study and IDF service, on Sunday visited his three student soldiers who were wounded in the morning's shooting attack adjacent to Beit El, in the Binyamin region of Samaria.

Two of the soldiers were seriously wounded, and the third was lightly wounded, with all three evacuated to hospitals in Jerusalem. The terrorist was revealed to be Amjad Abu-Omar, a Palestinian Authority (PA) police officer.

"Another shooting attack that proves how much we need to improve our deterrent force," Rabbi Weitzman told Arutz Sheva. The three soldiers were students at his yeshiva.

"We need to know something simple - that the hope our enemies have is what is bringing on the terror wave. They hope that they will succeed in cracking our perseverance, and that's what motivates them to conduct these acts. Until we eliminate the hope they will continue."

Rabbi Weitzman urged that "a firm decision is required, saying 'this is our place'; in the case of a terror attack a new town needs to be established, and then they will understand that they have something to lose, they will see that we are decisive."

The two seriously wounded soldiers were evacuated to Shaare Tzedek Hospital and Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital in Jerusalem. One, who suffered bullet wounds to his stomach and limbs, was operated on and is recovering in the intensive care unit. The second is still in the operating room.

As for the lightly wounded soldier, who suffered a gunshot to his hand, he was evacuated to Shaare Tzedek Hospital and is not in any great danger from his wound.

The terrorist was revealed to be a PA police officer, who previously worked as the personal bodyguard of the attorney general of the PA in Ramallah, Samaria.

Hours before the attack, he wrote on Facebook: "good morning, I will become a shahid (martyr) and join Allah and his messenger Mohammed. This is a morning of victory!" The terrorist was shot dead in the attack.