David Elimelech, who was seriously injured in Wednesday morning’s terrorist attack in the Hebron area, recounted his fight with the terrorist who shot at him and hit him.
"On the way to a photo shoot, the car got stuck after the Kiryat Arba intersection. I was waiting for help and I got out of the car to pray. As I was praying, a car stopped in front of me. I was sure it was someone coming to help, but then the terrorist came out with his hand behind his back. I realized something suspicious was going on. He approached me quickly and, at a distance of About three meters from me, he pulled out a gun and started shooting at me."
"As he was chasing me and continuing to fire five shots, I turned around behind the vehicle. My tallit got caught between my legs and I fell down. His weapon probably got jammed."
At this point the terrorist switched from using a gun to using a knife. "He pulled out a knife and started stabbing me. After the knife stuck in my back, the terrorist continued to hit me in the head with the butt of the gun."
At this point, military forces arrived on the scene. "A military jeep stopped next to us during the struggle against him. The soldiers probably ran towards us without realizing what was going on. The terrorist started to run away, I shouted to them 'Terrorist, he tried to murder me'. So they started shooting at him, but he ran away."
"There were two girls in the car with me. Thank goodness the terrorist did not see them. I am fine, after an operation in which they removed the knife, I suffered a hand injury from the knife, and a head injury from the butt of the gun. Thank God, all are minor wounds. Tomorrow, with God's help, I will be released," he concluded.
On Wednesday evening, following a manhunt by the IDF and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the terrorist suspected of carrying out the attack was located and arrested. The suspect linked himself to the act of terrorism during preliminary questioning and was handed over for further investigation by the Shin Bet.