10-Jul-17: Outside Tekoah, an Arab-on-Israel vehicle ramming attack followed by a thwarted knifing

Scene of today's vehicle ramming attack [Image Source]

On a fiercely hot July Monday, an IDF soldier of about 20 was today attacked and moderately injured in what the military are calling a suspected car ramming attack outside the West Bank community of Tekoa.

The attack happened at a junction on the road between Tekoa and Ma'ale Amos, a short distance south of the capital. The driver of the vehicle was shot dead by security forces according to a Times of Israel report.

The injured serviceman was treated at the scene by both civilian first responders and military medics. Magen David Adom, the Israeli ambulance service, says the soldier was not struck by the vehicle but instead hurt by a falling street light that hit him it was impact by the attack vehicle. The soldier has injuries to his arms and legs and was broughr to Jerusalem’s Shaarei Zedek Medical Center for emergency treatment. His condition, initially given as moderate, was lowered to mild at the hospital.

The attacker's knife  [Image Source]

The attacker has not yet been identified. It's reported that immediately after carrying out the ramming, he exited the vehicle and tried to stab a second IDF soldier before being shot. Army medics treated him at the scene but he was soon pronounced dead.

Here's how the Fatah-aligned Palestinian Arab Ma'an News Agency reports the attack:

An eyewitness told Ma'an that he saw the Palestinian, who was wearing a red shirt, lying motionless on the ground, and claimed that he saw two wounded Israeli soldiers -- one suffering from a serious injury and unable to move, and another with a minor injury. However, the Israeli army spokesperson said just one soldier had been wounded. According to Ma’an documentation, the man, who remained unidentified, became the 37th Palestinian to be killed by an Israeli in 2017. Eight Israelis have been killed by Palestinians during the same time frame.

The Arabic-language report of the same Ma'an organization says the Arab-on-Israeli "alleged" attacker, whom it calls "martyr", is a 25 year old Arab called Mohammed Ibrahim Jibril.

10-Jul-16: Saturday night Arab-on-Israel gunfire attack on car-full of children in Gush Etzion

The injured driver: No other family member in the vehicle
was hurt [Image Source]

Visitors to Israel and especially to the capital know that the Gush Etzion communities are located just a few minutes drive south of Jerusalem and are a thriving component of the greater Jerusalem urban area. In fact, they offer some of the most pleasant living environments in all of Israel.

But they are also located within close proximity of Hebron from where extreme Arab-on-Israel violence has emanated since at least the tragic massacre of 1929 in which on a single day (August 24) about seventy defenseless Jews were slaughtered, holy sites were pillaged and destroyed, and the entire Jewish population which had lived, worked and studied there for centuries was forcibly removed.

Polite reminder to the history-challenged: There were at that time no "oppressive" IDF checkpoints, no occupation, no "illegal settlements", no "Apartheid" security barrier. But there certainly was Arab-on-Jew hatred on a scale that defies the imagination. Some think that has passed. Others see it as a constant.

Now to last night. As reported by Israeli National News ["Man shot, wounded near Tekoa"]

A 30-year-old Israeli man was shot and wounded near the Gush Etzion community of Tekoa on Saturday night. MDA first responders were at the scene and treated the victim. He is now at Jerusalem's Shaarei Zedek hospital, where doctors say that he is in moderate condition with a bullet wound to the shin.

The communities of Gush Etzion, sorted by size of population

[Data Source: Wikipedia]

Since that was published, it has become clear the attack was not adjacent to Tekoa but between the small Gush Etzion community of Metzad (previously called Nahal Asfar) and the nearby T-intersection that serves it. Metzad is the southern-most community in Gush Etzion, and has a largely Haredi Jewish population.

Times of Israel says this morning (Sunday) that the IDF is currently

keeping two West Bank villages under closure as a troops searched for a shooter who opened fire at an Israeli car in the area the night before, injuring one person. The Israeli man, who has not been identified by officials, suffered light to moderate injuries and remained hospitalized in Jerusalem Sunday morning after the attack, which occurred on a road in the Etzion settlement bloc southeast of Jerusalem... The man’s wife and five children were in the vehicle with him during the shooting, a spokesperson for the Etzion bloc said... The shooting attack took place south of what’s known as the “T” junction on the highway connecting the east and west sides of the Etzion settlement bloc. The terrorist fled the scene and the army subsequently sealed off the nearby towns of Sa’ir and Al-Aroub as troops searched for the gunner. The army overnight Saturday-Sunday arrested eight Palestinians in the West Bank suspected of involvement in riots and attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers, but were still searching for the attacker. Palestinian media reported on Saturday night that following the closure, clashes broke out between IDF soldiers and residents in Sa’ir after soldiers imposed the closure, which involves surrounding the town and checking anyone leaving or entering.

Those Arab towns now being locked down have some terrorism background. We described what's special about Sa'ir six months ago in "08-Jan-16: Four more thwarted knife attackers, all from one town". It's regarded as a Hamas stronghold, which may surprise people who think that's true only of the terror-addicted Gaza Strip. Al-Aroub was last in our blog posts in April 2016 when one of its citizens launched a strikingly-unsuccessful ax attack on an Israeli [reported here].

In the Hebrew social media, Saturday night's shooting victim is described [here] as a Haredi resident of Netivot who had been a Sabbath guest in Metzad, along with his wife and children, all of them in the vehicle at the time of the shooting. Other than the driver, no one else was injured in the terror attack. Netivot is some 100 kilometers (an hour and a half's drive) from Metzad. A later report identifies him as Eitan Finkel. That's him in the photo at the top. We wish him a speedy and full recovery from his injuries. His six children were inside the car when it came under fire.

Since October 2015, according to a Times of Israel tally, 35 Israelis and four others have been killed and hundreds more injured in the wave of Arab-on-Israeli attacks. Some 200 Palestinian Arabs have been killed, about two-thirds of them the actual attackers in the course of their jihadist assaults, with the remainder killed in clashes with Israeli security forces.

18-Jan-16: A pregnant Jewish woman stabbed in Tekoa today

There has been another stabbing attack this morning on a Jewish woman by a knife-wielding Palestinian Arab assailant.

Today's attack happened a little after 10 am in Tekoa, a thriving Jewish community in the Gush Etzion area on the southern edge of Jerusalem, and the victim is pregnant. Times of Israel reports that the stabber was shot dead by security forces at the scene, a clothing warehouse (but there are reports that he may still be alive). His victim is a woman of about 30 with serious wounds to the upper body, including damage to a lung evidently pierced by the attacker's blade. She has been rushed to Shaarei Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem for emergency care. Tekoa residents have been told to remain in their homes (as of the time we are writing this - Monday morning) and to lock their doors until further notice.

The often-vile reporting of the Ma'an News Agency manages to get five paragraphs into its story, headlined "Palestinian shot, injured after allegedly stabbing Israeli woman" before disclosing that

the Israeli who was stabbed and injured is a pregnant women in "moderate to severe" condition. The Palestinian shot and injured has yet to be identified.

A pity to be giving this any attention, but the oh-so-clever people at Ma'an are the annual recipients of millions upon millions of Euros to lubricate the path forward for their very specific kind of agenda-driven, incite-over-insight news reporting. European tax-payers ought to be more aware of the role their tax money pays to make this a daily reality.

UPDATE: January 18, 2016 at 8:00 pm - The victim of the knifing attack in Tekoa is Michal Froman, the daughter-in-law of the late and renowned peace advocate Rabbi Menachem Froman, a saintly figure "who believed a common faith in God could enable coexistence". The Jerusalem Post says the terrorist who carried out the attack was shot and wounded and being fixed in a Jerusalem hospital like so many previous murder-minded Palestinian Arab attackers. Times of Israel notes that he is a child of 15:

Othman Muhammad Sha’alan, 15, came in [to the clothing shop located in a Tekoa warehouse] shortly after 10 a.m., when she opened the store, in an industrial area on the edge of the settlement, southeast of Jerusalem... Officials said the attacker sneaked into the settlement via a hole in a fence and then made his way to the nearby store... The teenage assailant then pulled out a blade from his pocket and stabbed Froman in the back... Shortly after fleeing the scene, the 15-year-old stabber was shot by an armed civilian and taken to a hospital for treatment.

Thankfully, the unborn child of today's knifing attack victim is evidently unharmed.

07-Oct-15: Despatches from the fronts

Shuafat, North Jerusalem, Monday October 5: Border Guard
officers taking care of business [Image Source]

It's early Wednesday evening in Jerusalem and the extreme violence is continuing.

• This morning, an Israeli man in his mid-thirties was attacked by a knife-wielding Palestinian Arab female aged about 18-20. This attack, like the murderous assault on a small group of Israeli pedestrians this past Saturday night ["03-Oct-15: Arab violence escalates in Jerusalem: Multiple stabbings in Old City tonight"] was carried out adjacent to Lion's Gate in Jerusalem's Old City. Today's victim suffered stab wounds in his upper body and back - he was stabbed from behind. The attacker's name is given [here] as Shorouq Dwayyat. Like her victim, she is being treated at Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital where she is said to be in critical condition after her victim managed to get off some accurate shots in her direction. The attacker's family are in the news as well, as Times of Israel reports: "The family of the terrorist said that officers stationed outside her hospital room would not allow them to visit the woman, Channel 2 reported. One of the family members was detained by police for questioning. Dwayyat’s mother told the TV station in a later interview that her daughter stabbed the man in self-defense after he attempted to pull off her head covering. It later transpired, however, that Dwayyat had written a Facebook post saying she was “going to become a shahid” - a “martyr.” Lovely people.
• Seven vehicles (at least) were damaged by rocks hurled by Palestinian Arabs this morning on the Jerusalem to Tekoa road near the volatile Arab neighbourhood Beit Sahour. One vehicle, driven by a young Israeli woman, Rivi Ohayon, a resident of Tekoa, came to a stop because of the hail of rocks and was quickly surrounded by a mob that forced the door of the car open. The driver was kicked multiple times and the car’s front windshield was smashed. She was treated by Magen David Adom paramedics and then sent to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem with light injuries. Times of Israel quotes Josh Hasten, a journalist for the Jerusalem Post, and a resident of Elazar, a nearby community, who said that earlier this morning he had been attacked on the road: “As I slowed down, I saw a mob of 40 to 50 masked Palestinians on the side of the road. They were holding rocks and cinder blocks... As they approached my car, I took out my gun and fired one round in the air. The shot obviously scared them and they ran up the hill away from the road... I have no doubt that I would be dead now if I hadn’t used my gun. They were going to kill me.” There's an audio interview with Josh Hasten here.
• A Palestinian Arab male stabbed and then stole the weapon of an Israeli soldier in the coastal city of Kiryat Gat. Security personnel pursued the assailant to a nearby building - evidently in order to take up a position inside an accessible apartment, which he sought to enter [video] - where they succeeded in mortally shooting him.
• Around 6:30 this evening, a similar attack happened in the central city of Petach Tikva where a Palestinian Arab stabbed several people in a shopping mall. There are multiple casualties and few details. One of the victims, an Israeli male of about 25, is reported to be in moderate condition and stable with knife wounds, and being treated at nearby Beilinson Hospital. The attacker was arrested and in the hands of the police.
• Again, few details at this stage, but it's reported that a 15-year-old Palestinian Arab youth was arrested in Abu Tor, a mixed Jewish/Arab section of Jerusalem, after attempting a knife assault on Israel Police forces around 7:00 pm this evening.
• Times of Israel reports that two people were injured lightly when a Palestinian Arab driver rammed his vehicle into a checkpoint on Jerusalem's eastern side around 8:30 pm Wednesday night. The vehicle's driver was shot by a Border Guard officer and injured at the A-Zaim checkpoint, between Maale Adumim and Jerusalem, According to police, the vehicle driven by a Palestinian Arab was coming from east of Maale Adumim when the driver rammed it into the checkpoint.

In addition, dozens of rock-hurling attacks and firebombings (Molotov cocktail attacks). It's now almost midnight, and the sounds of police sirens are audible from points across the city.

10-Nov-14: Second terrorist knifing attack of the day and this time an Israeli victim is dead

The bus stop at the entrance to Alon Shvut [Image Source]

At the bus stop located at the entrance to the Israeli community of Alon Shvut this afternoon, around 4:45 p.m., an Arab with a terrorist record attacked several Israelis.

A young mother in her mid twenties, Dalia Lemkus, a resident of nearby Tekoa, was stabbed to death, and two other people were injured: a 26-year-old man suffered light-moderate injuries, and a man in his 50s was lightly hurt. Alon Shvut is located in the Etzion Bloc (Gush Etzion) south of Jerusalem.

Times of Israel quotes Israel's Channel 2 reporting that

the older man was driving by the scene when he saw the attack in progress, then stopped his car and wrestled with the attacker before suffering an injury to his face. The stabber was shot by a guard on duty at the site, police said. Initial reports indicated he was killed, but later reports dispelled that claim. Magen David Adom said he was in serious condition.

A video recording of the attack (below) shows the Arab terrorist ramming into three people waiting at a bus stop with his Subaru minivan - a vehicle which bore yellow Israeli license plates, and not Palestinian plates (according to Israel National News). Our guess is this means the vehicle had been stolen. He failed to run them over, and is seen leaving the vehicle and attacking them, evidently with a knife. A security guard runs into the frame, fires a pistol at the terrorist who does not fall, and chases him along the road.


A Hamas radio station is reported to have named the attacker as Maher Hamdi al-Hashalmoun, a resident of Hebron known to be affiliated with Islamic Jihad. Times of Israel says he served four and a half years in Israeli prisons after being convicted of fire-bomb offences. He was released five years ago.

This was the second stabbing attack involving Arab attackers and Israeli victims today. (Here is our report of the first one,)

8-Nov-13: Does rising terrorist violence on Israel's roads mean we're getting closer to peace?

Aftermath of this morning's firebomb attack on vehicle being
driven by human beings near Israeli community of Tekoa [Image Source]

Far from the headlines and the attention of the non-Israeli media, it's been a day of drama for those living close to the interface with the people on the other side of the conflict, especially those driving on the roads and manning the security checkpoints.

• Start with today's attack by a man who brandished a knife with which he tried to stab Border Police at a security checkpoint near Jerusalem. He ignored calls from the officers who then opened fire and killed him. The Jerusalem Post quotes Palestinian officials saying he is a 23-year-old from Hebron.
• Earlier this morning (Friday), a moving car with people inside it (the customary configuration) came under terrorist fire on a highway that passes the Israeli community of Tekoa, just a short distance south of Jerusalem. An Israeli couple were driving the vehicle when it was hit by a fire bomb (aka Molotov Cocktail) and exploded. The driver, Tzachi Khouri, is interviewed by Ynet: "There was a giant explosion, we didn't understand what was going on. It took me a second to realize that my wife was on fire. The car started to burn. I opened the door, pulled her to me. I tried calling rescue services, there was no reception. It took me a long time until I could reach someone." Israel National News says the wife suffered moderate burns; the husband is also injured, though relatively lightly. Magen David Adom medics treated them on the scene and then transferred them to the Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem, Jerusalem. Their car (in the photos above and below) is entirely destroyed. "Burnt to a crisp" is what Times of Israel's reporter says. Soldiers are sweeping the area at this hour, trying to locate and apprehend those who set out to kill them some Israelis.
• Late night (Thursday) at a security checkpoint in Abu Dis, in the eastern suburbs of Jerusalem, a local Arab tried to stab a Border Police serviceman, according to Times of Israel quoting Army Radio.
• Also Thursday, a Palestinian Arab male fired a flare gun at civilian Israelis standing at a hitch-hike post at Tapuah Junction, not far from the city of Ariel. IDF soldiers patrolling the area fired, killing him on the spot. Fortunately the attacker did not manage to fulfill his plan of injuring Israelis, or worse.

Aftermath of same attack, this morning [Image Source]

Might the presence in the area of high-level representatives of the US government, talking of the urgency for a peace agreement, be connected to the latest Palestinian Arab attacks? Today's Jerusalem Post puts it this way:

The latest violence has coincided with efforts by US Secretary of State John Kerry who is visiting the region, to push forward peace talks and avoid what he said could be a "third Intifada," or Palestinian uprising against Israel. Ten Palestinians have been shot dead in the West Bank by Israeli security forces and three Israelis have been killed since Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking resumed in July following a three-year freeze.

Smarter and more politically-minded observers than we may want to draw a line connecting the rise in lethal Palestinian Arab violence with Kerry's well-publicized statements: we certainly would not presume to do so. Here's an example (from "Frustrated Kerry’s peace critique a heavy slap in Netanyahu’s face" in the Times of Israel) of the Secretary of State's contribution in the past 24 hours:

“The alternative to getting back to the talks is the potential of chaos. I mean, does Israel want a Third Intifada?...I know there are people who have grown used to this [referring to the current lack of progress] And particularly in Israel. Israel says, ‘Oh, we feel safe today. We have the wall, we’re not in a day-to-day conflict, we’re doing pretty well economically.’ Well, I’ve got news for you [apparently addressing the Israeli public]. Today’s status quo will not be tomorrow’s or next year’s. Because if we don’t resolve this issue, the Arab world, the Palestinians, neighbors, others, are going to begin again to push in a different way.”

There are probably those who see his words of wisdom as constituting a push towards more peace. We're not so sure.

12-Dec-12: Scenes from the front lines, courtesy of the Tayar Report

Palestinian Arab attackers, equipped with rocks and Molotov cocktails

The chronology below is a continuation of the reports we have published in recent months based on information received via the Tayar Security Report, with some editing and annotating by us. Yehudit Tayar produces her invaluable bulletins on the basis of first-responder, police and army reports.

Friday November 30, 2012

• Halhul Bypass Road adjacent to Highway 60: An Israeli vehicle is attacked by rock-throwing Arabs at the exact spot where Asher Palmer and his infant son Yonatan HY"D were murdered in September 2011 ["25-Sep-11: "Only" rock throwers - but now a father and his infant son are dead"] This time, one person is lightly injured and given medical care at the scene.

Sunday December 2, 2012

• Near Anbata, east of Tul Karem: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock attack by Arabs; damage is limited this time to property loss.
• The Benjamin region close to Hizma: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock attack by Arabs.
• Between Hawara Checkpoint and Tapuah Junction: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock and Molotov cocktail attack by Arabs. There is resultant property damage.
• Between the community of Adam and the Hizma Crossing in the Benjamin region near the northern entrance to Jerusalem: Ongoing heavy rock attacks on Israeli vehicles result in a traffic accident
• South of Nablus/Shechem near Hawara: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock attack by Arabs.
• Route 443 in the Benjamin region, a major intercity highway running between the coastal plane and Jerusalem: In the vicinity of Bet Horon and the village of A-Tira: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock attack by Arabs.
• Between the Arab village of Azun and the Israeli community of Ma'aleh Shomron: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock attack by Arabs.

Monday December 3, 2012

• Between Shavei Shomron and Einav in the Shomron region: An Arab driver deliberately crashes his vehicle into an IDF military jeep, causing the jeep to crash and overturn. Four security personnel re injured.  The Arab driver, armed with an ax, approaches the Israelis and is shot and killed. [See also our post: "3-Dec-12 [UPDATED]: Ax-wielding Palestinian Arab is stopped by Israeli soldiers this morning"]

Tuesday December 4, 2012

• Near El Arub on the Gush Etzion-Hevron highway: Two Molotov cocktails are hurled at Israeli vehicles. No serious injuries or damage.

Wednesday December 5, 2012

• Near Beit El in the Benjamin region: Two Molotov cocktails are burled at an Israeli passenger bus. No serious injuries or damage.
• Massive rock attacks occur near Ma'aleh Shomron, and in the vicinity of Ariel.

Thursday December 6, 2012

• At Shavei Shomron Junction: An IDF jeep comes under attack by Arabs armed with Molotov cocktails.
• Near Hawara, an Israel bus carrying school students comes under rock attack by Arabs, causing property damage.
• At the Hizma Crossing in the Benjamin region: the driver of an Israeli bus reports his vehicle came under rock attack the communities of Rachelim and Eli.
• On the Gush Etzion-Hevron highway near Beit Ummar: Arabs subject Israeli vehicles, including buses, to sustained rock and boulder attacks. Though there are no injuries,there is significant property damage, including damage to vehicles.
• Hevron: In Kikar Hashoter ("Policeman's Square") IDF soldiers come under attack by a mob of some 150 Arabs armed with rocks and Molotov cocktails. The soldiers disperse the attackers.
• Hevron: An IDF patrol is attacked by police officers of the Palestinian Authority using their fists, while non-uniformed Arabs throw rocks. The IDF force retreats under a hail of rocks.

Friday December 7, 2012

• West of Nablus/Shechem: Violence directed at Israelis by Arabs. Two IDF soldiers are injured by rocks hurled at them; one suffers a suspected fracture of the arm. Another suffers facial injuries and lacerations. A third soldier suffers burn injuries from an exploding grenade thrown at him. IDF soldiers from the 76 Brigade of the Engineering Corps are evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah for treatment.
• On the Gush Etzion-Hevron highway at Beit Ummar: Ongoing violent attacks by Arabs directed against Israeli vehicles result in one driver suffering head injury from rocks hurled at her vehicle; she manages to continue driving until she reaches Karmei Zur where she is treated by an IDF ambulance crew and taken to hospital by Magen David Adom. Damage is caused to Israeli vehicles including buses. IDF forces disperse the agitators into the village.

Saturday December 8, 2012

• North-west of Ramallah near El Moiyer: Explosive devices are found on the road and inside a pipe on the road. IDF bomb squad sappers are called in and they safely dispose of the threats. 
• On the Gush Etzion-Hevron highway at Beit Ummar: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock attack by Arabs.

Sunday December 9, 2012

• Azun Junction: A Molotov cocktail is thrown by Arabs. No injuries or damage.
• The road running between Har Homa and Tekoa in Jerusalem's southern suburbs: An Israeli bus comes under rock attack by Arabs near Herodian Square, causing damage but no injuries.
• Near Azun: Israeli vehicles and buses are attacked by Arabs armed with rocks and Molotov cocktails.
• Near Hawara: Molotov cocktails is hurled at an Israeli vehicle.
• The tunnel road running south from Jerusalem and under Bethlehem: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock attack by Arabs; no injuries but there is property damage.

Tuesday December 11, 2012

• Between Nili and Na'aleh in the Benjamin region: Molotov cocktail is hurled at an Israeli vehicle.

Wednesday December 12, 2012 (today)

• North of Ofra in the Mateh Binyamin region: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock attack by Arabs; no injuries but there is property damage.
• On the Gush Etzion-Hevron highway near Beit Ummar: Arabs subject an Israeli passenger bus to rock and boulder attack.

Postscript from Yehudit Tayar: "These reports are translated and publicized by Hatzalah Yehudah and Shomron with the clearance and confirmation of the IDF. Hatzalah Yehudah and Shomron is a voluntary emergency medical organization with over 500 volunteer doctors, paramedics, medics who are on call 24/7 and work along with the IDF, 669 IAF Airborn Rescue, the security officers and personal throughout Yesha and the Jordan Valley, and with MDA. We, the volunteers of Hatzalah Yehudah and Shomron go out to rescue anyone who needs our emergency medical assistance; including civilians, military and Arabs also those within the PA territories. (with IDF presence) To us a life is precious and we go out at risk leaving home and family or stopping on the road to rescue anyone in need."

3-Jun-12: Scenes from the front lines: today's update

East Jerusalem: Firebombs, cement blocks, rock volleys
[Image Source]

The chronology below picks up where we left off this past Tuesday ["29-May-12: Terrorism from up close: low-intensity attacks continue"]. Like several earlier reports summarized in our blog, this is based on the Tayar Security Report, compiled by Yehudit Tayar from first-responder, police and army reports.

Tuesday May 29, 2012

• Molotov cocktail (fire-bomb) attack on the IDF post at Tel Ares, south-west of Nablus/Shechem
• Civilian buses come under rock attacks in the area north-west of Nablus/Shechem between Sebastia and the Jewish communities of the Shomron (Samaria district) 

Wednesday May 30. 2012

• Tekoa in the Gush Etzion region, on Jerusalem's southern edge: A crowd of Palestinian Arabs, including a considerable number of political activists, provocateurs and anarchists (to adopt the Tayar Security Report's terminology) gathers, seeking to cause violent clashes with the community's Jewish residents. They also attack IDF troops whose presence prevented the confrontations which they evidently wanted to achieve. One of the Arab protestors is moderately injured.
• Negahot in the Southern Hebron Hills: Rock throwing attacks on the IDF with two soldiers suffering  moderate injuries. They are taken away by ambulance for hospital treatment.

Thursday May 31, 2012

• Betar Ilit: An Israeli passenger bus comes under rock attack resulting in property damage but no injuries
• In the Shomron (Samaria district): Rock attacks on vehicles traveling on the Gilad Road
• Negahot in in the Southern Hebron Hills: Continuing rock attacks

 Friday June 1, 2012

• Terrorist incursion near Kisufim on the Israel/Gaza border. We posted on this ["1-Jun-12: In the south, things are growing warmer... yet again"]
• Two incoming rockets are fired from Gaza in the general direction of Israeli communities, this time landing near the security fence
• Village of Kfar Hursa, in the Southern Hebron Hills: Continuous rioting by local Palestinian Arabs directed against Israeli vehicles passing on the nearby roads. An Israeli motorist, struck by a bottle of paint, safely reached Bet Hagai where she reported on the damage to her vehicle
• Also in the vicinity of Hursa: An Israeli child suffered injuries from glass fragments as a result of a rock attack (one of many) on a vehicle traveling near the village. In addition, two IDF soldiers were injured from rock throwing in the same area during the week.

Saturday June 2, 2012

• The Gal neighborhood of Kiryat Arba: A fire is set by protesting Arabs from nearby towns. Fire fighters prevented damage or injury.
• Adjacent to the village of El Arub on the Gush Etzion-to-Hebron road: During Friday night, a Molotov cocktail (fire-bomb) is hurled at an IDF post 

Sunday (today) June 3, 2012

• The vicinity of Har Gilo on Jerusalem's southern edge: An Israeli vehicle is car-jacked. The driver, who had transported her son to his army post nearby, is thrown from her vehicle but is unhurt. The brazen thieves make good their escape to the nearby Arab town of Bet Jala.
• Hebron: Rock attacks on Israeli vehicles in and near the city's Jewish community quarter, with property damage
• Multiple rock attacks today against Israeli vehicles traveling several roads including the Yigal Alon Road, north-west of Ramallah; the major Tel Aviv/Jerusalem Route 443, in the vicinity of the Dor Energy gas station (owned and operated by the Hawaja family, Israeli Arabs) a few kilometers south of the city of Modi'in; and in the vicinity of Shilo with the rock throwers based at the Arab school at Luben A-Sharkia. Damage caused to vehicles.

9-May-12: Far from the cameras, an ongoing low intensity war

The romantically-minded reporters and editors of most of the West's
news media want you to believe this is what characterizes the low-intensity
conflict between the Arabs and the Israelis. The dirty-secret reality
is that rocks are hurled by Arabs at Israeli mothers driving their children
far more often than at Israeli military tanks.
And the rocks, cement blocks and boulders that they hurl
are far more often thrown by grown men - who view this
as war -  than by photogenic adolescents.

The attention of almost every working reporter and photographer in Israel this week is on the prisoners' hunger strike. We plan to address that a bit later today. Meanwhile, far from their attention, almost entirely unreported, is what ordinary Israelis are coping with. These events listed below are all from the past 48 hours only. They are a selection from what is sometimes called a low-intensity conflict. 

Hundreds of violent attacks have been made in the last few days on Israelis driving on the roads, as well as on routine police and army patrols. The names of the places may sound strange and foreign, maybe even exotic, to some of our readers. 

But this is where we live.

• The road between Efrat and Tekoa, a few kilometers south of Jerusalem: Rock attacks (described as 'massive') on Israeli vehicles. Damage caused to vehicles. 
• Gush Etzion: The Hebron road near El Arub. Several separate incidents of rocks hurled at Israeli vehicles. Damage caused to vehicles.
• Gush Etzion: The Hebron road near the village of Bet Umar, scene of many rock attacks on fast-moving cars. IDF soldier injured moderately in rock attack, requiring medical treatment.
• The Ma'ale Levona/Sinjil road, in the Benjamin district north of Jerusalem. Civilian driver of Israeli vehicle reported being shot at. Security forces were called - unable to find shooter. Damage to vehicle.
• Abu Dis, Jerusalem suburb north-east of Bethlehem: Throng of Palestinian Arabs numbering about 50 individuals kept up a hail of rocks and molotov cocktails for several hours, directed at IDF soldiers.
• Trans-Judea Highway, near Halhoul bridge: Rock-throwing attacks (described as 'massive') directed at Israeli vehicles. Damaged caused to vehicles.
• Kiryat Arba region in vicinity of Bene Naim village: Rock-throwing attacks (described as 'massive') directed at Israeli vehicles. Damaged caused to vehicles.
• Southern Hebron hills: Rock-throwing attacks (described as 'massive') directed at Israeli bus from village of El Fuar
• Kiryat Arba region in vicinity of Bet Enun: Rock-throwing attack that went on for several hours, directed at Israeli vehicles. Injuries caused to two Israelis traveling inside the vehicles. Damaged caused to vehicles.
• Kiryat Arba region in vicinity of Bet Enun: Following the rock-throwing attack in Bet Enun vicinity, several Arab residents of the area escaped from the scene in their vehicles, and then attacked IDF soldiers when they arrived in the village to apprehend the rock-throwers. Property damage to 7 Israeli vehicles.
• Negahot in southern Hebron Hills: Rock attacks on Israeli civilians as well as on IDF soldiers near El Fuar.
• Gush Etzion: The road  between the villages of Bet Umar El Arub: Significant rock throwing attacks, causing damage to Israeli vehicles.
• Gush Etzion: The Hebron road near Halhoul, north of Hebron: Rock throwing attacks. Israeli passenger bus damaged.
• Road 446 north of Nili in the Benjamin region: Arabs placed cement blocks and rocks in road to create obstacle and to cause damage to vehicles. 
• North of Na'alim checkpost: Arabs carried out rock-throwing attack on Israeli vehicles causing damage to vehicles.
• Area between Har Bracha and Kedumim in the Shomron/Samaria district: Brush fire deliberately lit by three Palestinian Arabs. Fire brought under control by fire fighters.
• Qalandia checkpost north of Jerusalem: Arab apprehended by security personnel and found to be carrying concealed weapons. Arrested and taken away for interrogation.
• Road between Tapuach and Migdalim in Shomron/Samaria district: rocks thrown at Israeli vehicles causing damage. 

This is by no means a complete list but a selection. The reports come from the voluntary first-responder organization, Hatzalah Yehudah and Shomron. Its 500 volunteer doctors, paramedics, medics, on call 24x7 and working in co-ordination with the IDF and with MDA, Magen David Adom, the Israeli ambulance service, deal with these low-intensity challenges daily. It's a safe bet that not a single one of these attacks of the past two days made it into the newspapers or television/radio news of any of our visitors.