Stone-throwers attack mother, three children in Samaria

(February 23, 2023 / JNS) Three young children and their mother were lightly wounded on Thursday in a Palestinian stone-throwing attack near the Tapuach Junction in Samaria.

Heftziva Shani was driving with her children, aged 2, 5 and 6, to shop for Purim, when their car was struck.

“I was traveling with three children; they threw a rock at us, the stone hit my daughter directly in the cheek. We continued straight to Tapuach Junction,” said Shani.

“I felt that God was watching over us,” she added.

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan said it was a “miracle” that the family was not injured more seriously.

“We demand that the government increase the punishment for stone-throwers and review the open-fire regulations,” he said.

Dagan said that the incident once again proved that stone-throwing is not a “prank” but constitutes terrorism. Nevertheless, he noted, the IDF had recently issued a directive to troops to be prudent when opening fire at stone-throwers.

Dagan said that in 2021 there were 5,500 instances of stone-throwing in Judea and Samaria, and most perpetrators receive plea bargains and a maximum of two years in prison.

“This situation must stop. The government must instruct the military echelon to step up its enforcement against stone-throwers. Otherwise, disaster is only a matter of time,” added Dagan.

Earlier Thursday, armed security guards thwarted an attempted stabbing at a checkpoint at the entrance to Maale Adumim.

The assailant, a woman, approached the guards with knife drawn, police said in a statement. The guards opened fire, “neutralizing” her. She was evacuated to the hospital in moderate to serious condition.

No Israelis were injured.