Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Independence Day terror attack victim’s condition deteriorates

Shimon Maatuf was attacked by ax-wielding Palestinians in Elad during the holiday, suffering severe head wounds.

Israeli forces demolishing the home in Rumana, near Jenin, of one of the terrorists responsible for a deadly attack in Elad in May, on Aug. 7, 2022. Photo: Israel Defense Forces.
Israeli forces demolishing the home in Rumana, near Jenin, of one of the terrorists responsible for a deadly attack in Elad in May, on Aug. 7, 2022. Photo: Israel Defense Forces.

The condition of a 75-year old Israeli man who was seriously wounded in a terrorist attack in Elad on May 4, Israel’s Independence Day, has taken a turn for the worse, Israeli media reported on Thursday.

Shimon Maatuf, of Moshav Barkat, was employed as an armed security guard at the amusement park in Elad set up for the Independence Day celebrations. He was attacked by two Palestinians armed with axes, and suffered severe head wounds.

Following initial treatment he was moved to a rehabilitation facility, where he had remained until Tuesday night, when his condition worsened and became life-threatening, at which point he was evacuated to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.

Maatuf is married, the father of six children and a grandfather of 13.

The May attack claimed the lives of Yonatan Havakuk, Boaz Gol and Oren Ben-Yiftach, and left four people seriously wounded, including Maatuf.

In June, Jenin residents Assad Yussef Assad al-Rafa’i and Sabhi Imad Sabhi Abu Shakir were indicted on three counts of aggravated murder and committing acts of terrorism for their roles in the deadly attack.

“Just like we knocked them out again today, we’ll knock them out a lot harder and a lot more violently in the future if they don’t get their deal signed, fast,” President Donald Trump said.
“This is meant to make the job of the police and prosecutors easier,” Tara Cook-Littman, of the Jewish Federation Association of Connecticut, told JNS.
“No challenges were received during the public display period,” Shirley N. Weber’s office told JNS.
A 25-foot buffer zone around houses of worship would include a penalty for protesters who breach it, though the state Assembly speaker said nothing has been agreed to yet.
“An event at a city-owned pool that was publicly and indiscriminately advertised as ‘whites only’ would surely violate the Constitution,” the executive director of the state Public Safety Office wrote. “The same must be true here.”
The gift from the Jan Koum Family Foundation is expected to triple the size of the Jerusalem hospital.