The three terrorists, one in the driver’s seat and two in the rear, began their hunt for a victim at the Tapuach Junction, in central Shomron. They continued down Route 60 past Eli and were finally caught near Bir Zeit, north of Beit El.
The men, driving a red Fiat, stopped near Maaleh Levonah to pick up a Jewish passenger. The 17-year-old yeshiva student who was poised to get in said later that their short Arabic-accented answers to his questions raised his suspicions, as did the fact that they said they only wanted one hitch-hiker to get in. When the youth closed the car door without taking up their offer, the car sped off - and the near-victim notified the army. Roadblocks were set up in the region.
The terrorists were soon caught and found to be armed. They are believed to be members of Hamas.
In recent months, teenager Eliyahu Asheri was kidnapped from a hitch-hiking post in northern Jerusalem - and later murdered - and two teenaged girls managed to escape a similar attack near Shilo.
Local residents say they have no choice but to hitch-hike for rides, due to the paucity of public transportation in Judea and Samaria. In addition, many of them say they do not wish to "cave in" to terrorism by refraining from traveling freely to and from their homes. Furthermore, "waiting for a bus is just as dangerous as waiting for a ride," one youth said.
Despite this, police officials say they demand "personal responsibility" from the residents.
Attacks Elsewhere
Arabs detonated a bomb along the security fence around southern Gaza Sunday evening. No injuries or damage were reported. Security forces were on alert in the Gaza region following warnings of a planned terrorist attack along the security fence or at a crossing.
The Karni crossing was closed since Sunday afternoon due to the warnings. Security forces are searching for tunnels in the area.
Police in the Israeli-Arab town of Taibeh found a cache of weapons hidden in a kindergarten. The weapons cache included a LAW (Light Anti-armour Weapon) missile and two assault rifles – an M-16 and a Kalashnikov. Four Israeli-Arabs were arrested in connection to the stealing and possession of the weapons.
Also in Taibeh, on Monday morning, two Arabs ran over a policeman who signaled them to stop. The policeman was taken to a hospital with injuries termed "moderate." The car was later found abandoned and burnt in eastern Taibeh.
Coincidentally, a traffic court sentenced a Taibe resident to eight months in prison today for injuring a police officer last May when he refused to adhere to a policeman's orders to stop.
In northern Israel, an IDF force found five large bombs placed by Hizbullah terrorists just north of the border fence. The bombs, found inside territorial Israel, are believed to have been placed there recently. Israel has filed a complaint with the UNIFIL peacekeeping force.
The men, driving a red Fiat, stopped near Maaleh Levonah to pick up a Jewish passenger. The 17-year-old yeshiva student who was poised to get in said later that their short Arabic-accented answers to his questions raised his suspicions, as did the fact that they said they only wanted one hitch-hiker to get in. When the youth closed the car door without taking up their offer, the car sped off - and the near-victim notified the army. Roadblocks were set up in the region.
The terrorists were soon caught and found to be armed. They are believed to be members of Hamas.
In recent months, teenager Eliyahu Asheri was kidnapped from a hitch-hiking post in northern Jerusalem - and later murdered - and two teenaged girls managed to escape a similar attack near Shilo.
Local residents say they have no choice but to hitch-hike for rides, due to the paucity of public transportation in Judea and Samaria. In addition, many of them say they do not wish to "cave in" to terrorism by refraining from traveling freely to and from their homes. Furthermore, "waiting for a bus is just as dangerous as waiting for a ride," one youth said.
Despite this, police officials say they demand "personal responsibility" from the residents.
Attacks Elsewhere
Arabs detonated a bomb along the security fence around southern Gaza Sunday evening. No injuries or damage were reported. Security forces were on alert in the Gaza region following warnings of a planned terrorist attack along the security fence or at a crossing.
The Karni crossing was closed since Sunday afternoon due to the warnings. Security forces are searching for tunnels in the area.
Police in the Israeli-Arab town of Taibeh found a cache of weapons hidden in a kindergarten. The weapons cache included a LAW (Light Anti-armour Weapon) missile and two assault rifles – an M-16 and a Kalashnikov. Four Israeli-Arabs were arrested in connection to the stealing and possession of the weapons.
Also in Taibeh, on Monday morning, two Arabs ran over a policeman who signaled them to stop. The policeman was taken to a hospital with injuries termed "moderate." The car was later found abandoned and burnt in eastern Taibeh.
Coincidentally, a traffic court sentenced a Taibe resident to eight months in prison today for injuring a police officer last May when he refused to adhere to a policeman's orders to stop.
In northern Israel, an IDF force found five large bombs placed by Hizbullah terrorists just north of the border fence. The bombs, found inside territorial Israel, are believed to have been placed there recently. Israel has filed a complaint with the UNIFIL peacekeeping force.