Beit Shemesh residents at scene of the attack (illustration)
Beit Shemesh residents at scene of the attack (illustration)Yaakov Lederman/Flash 90

Following Thursday morning's terror attack, residents of Beit Shemesh told Arutz Sheva that fear is gripping the central city, particularly in light of the presence of hundreds of illegal Arab workers who could potentially be tomorrow's terrorists.

In the attack, two Arab terrorists stabbed a young haredi man coming out of a synagogue before being shot by security forces. The terrorists, who were linked with Hamas, had illegally entered sovereign Israel from Judea, a detail which caused ex-MK Dov Lipman to call to end the employment of illegal Arab workers.

"You have to understand that in Beit Shemesh there's a very large surge of construction," Mordechai, a resident of Ramat Beit Shemesh Gimel told Arutz Sheva. "What that means is that hundreds of Arab workers arrive here every morning and walk around the city."

"The fact that according to different reports the terrorist tried to get in a car that was driving students to school, and for some unknown reasons he wasn't able to, teaches how close they are to us," said Mordechai. "They are walking among us. There is no chance of preventing surprises."

The concerned resident explained that he is afraid to send his children to their Talmud Torah religious day school every morning.

"I'll be honest with you: they go by foot over a distance of several hundred meters, and every morning when they go, and in the afternoon when they return, my heart flutters like a butterfly. I know that many Arab workers are in this whole area, and I'm definitely concerned."

When asked what can be done, the worried father says, "there's nothing to do other than praying. What will I do? Arm them with tear gas? Isn't it enough that the panic has crawled into all our hearts, do we have to put it in the hearts of the children?"

Yehuda Dezhichovsky, head of the Hatzalah rescue service in Beit Shemesh, told Arutz Sheva earlier on Thursday that "there are hundreds of Arab workers at the construction sites here, and many of them stay illegally in the neighborhood. We are very concerned about what is going on here."

Also responding to the attack was former Yesh Atid MK Dov Lipman, a resident of Beit Shemesh, said, "contractors are breaking the law and are hiring workers without permits. Many even sleep in the construction sites overnight. The city must send inspectors day and night to check these sites and fine the contractors."