U.S. officials took to the Internet on Tuesday to blast Palestinian violence in the wake of a terror attack that targeted eight people on Sunday night, the last night of Hanukkah.
“Another vile act of #Palestinian terrorism last night included the shooting of a pregnant woman,” wrote U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman on Twitter. “Hamas calls the shooters “heroic”—yes, the same #Hamas that the @UN could not resolve to condemn last week. The #US stands with #Israel against terrorists even if others won’t.”
Jason Greenblatt, Middle East adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, called the attacks “absolutely disgusting” in his tweet, adding that “terrorists attack a group of Israelis celebrating Hanukkah. My prayers and thoughts are with the victims and their families. [Palestinian Authority] President [Mahmoud] Abbas, will you condemn the act this time??”
The drive-by shooting attack near the Jewish town of Ofra in Samaria critically wounded a 21-year-old pregnant woman, Shira Yael Ish-Ran, who was evacuated to Jerusalem’s Shaarei Zedek Medical Center with wounds in her abdomen and severe loss of blood.
Her husband, Amichai Yishai Ish-Ran, was also shot multiple times but is said to be recovering.
While her condition stabilized, that of her son—delivered by emergency Caesarian section at just 30 weeks—was reported to have worsened.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley retweeted a post by Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon, in which he decried that “once caught, the Palestinian Authority will pay the terrorist a monthly salary, as this is part of the P.A.’s incitement campaign, which encourages such attacks.”
He added Haley’s comment that “these payments need to stop.”
