Two IDF soldiers killed in car-ramming attack in Samaria
Two Israeli Defence Forces soldiers have been killed and two others seriously injured in a car-ramming terror attack on Friday outside of the Jewish settlement of Mevo Dotan in northern Samaria.
Captain Ziv Daos (left) and Sergeant Netanel Kalani. Both promoted posthumously to those ranks. Photo: IDF
The soldiers have been named as Capt. Ziv Daos and Sgt. Netanel Kalani.
Shin Bet named today’s attacker Allah Rateb Abdelatif Kabaha, from Bartaa, born in 1991. Released from prison in April 2017 following security offenses.
“Car ramming incident adjacent to the community of Reihan, west of Jenin. There are a number of casualties at the scene,” the IDF Spokesperson Unit wrote on Twitter.
Magen David Adom medics on the scene applied first aid to the injured before evacuating them to the Rabin Medical Center in Petach Tikvah. According to hospital officials, one was injured seriously with a head wound and the other has sustained moderate wounds.
The suspected terrorist, a Palestinian man in his 20s from the town of Barta’a, was captured and questioned at the scene before being taken to a hospital near Hadera.
The terror attack was the second one in two weeks, following an attack in Akko earlier this month that injured an Israeli border police officer and two soldiers.
The Palestinian terror group Hamas praised the attack, saying that it “proves our people’s readiness to continue the Jerusalem intifada.”
Medics evacuate by helicopter a wounded Israeli soldier at the Beilinson hospital in Petah Tikva on March 16, 2018, after two Israeli soldiers died and another two where injured in a car-ramming terror attack near Mevo Dothan, in the West Bank.
Photo: Roy Alima/Flash90
The attack comes amid “day of rage” protests in the disputed territories tied to the 100th-day anniversary of U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem in December.
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon quickly condemned the terror attack, while calling on the international community to urge the Palestinians to end their payments to terrorists and their families.
“As long as the Palestinian Authority continues to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to terrorists who kill Israelis, we will continue to see such heinous attacks,” said Ambassador Danon. “The international community must condemn this hateful act of terror and demand that the Palestinian leadership finally put an end to the despicable practice of ‘pay to slay,’” the Ambassador concluded.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented: “From the depths of my heart, I send condolences to the families of the IDF officer and soldier who were murdered yesterday by a reprehensible terrorist and my best wishes for a quick recovery to the wounded.
We will work to demolish the home of the terrorist and will deal with him to the fullest extent of the law.”
President Reuven Rivlin added: “Throughout Shabbat, our prayers and thoughts were with the families of the victims of the terrible terror attack that took place as the Sabbath began on Friday afternoon. I send a warm embrace of comfort and strength to the families of those killed and we pray for the speedy recovery of the wounded.
May all the security forces be strengthened, operating in all arenas – in the field and in intelligence – to investigate those who perpetrated and assisted in the attack. We will not rest until we bring all those who cooperate with terror to justice, we will not allow terror to become an accepted norm.”
The IDF has announced that following the car-ramming attack adjacent to the community of Mevo Dotan, the Coordinator of the Government Activities in the Territories, Maj, Gen. Yoav (Poli) Mordechai, ordered an immediate and broad suspension on permits for the entire family of the assailant. The suspended permits include 67 for employment in Israel, 26 trade permits, and four employment permits in communities.
JNS/GPO/IDF
