Two Israelis were shot and injured by a Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank town of Huwara on Sunday afternoon, just three weeks after another terror shooting there killed two Israelis.
One of the victims, dual American-Israeli citizen David Stern, was shot in the head at point blank range but still managed to retrieve his weapon and shoot and neutralizing the terrorist.
Stern’s wife was also injured in the attack. Their children were in the back of the vehicle but were not harmed in the attack. The couple were evacuated to a hospital in Petah Tikva. Stern, a martial arts instructor, was described as being in serious condition while his wife was in light condition. The bullet grazed his skull and continued on to his arm, Israeli media reports said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Stern a “hero.”
“I am praying for the wounded hero injured in the attack in Huwara, who was able to neutralize the terrorist. I send my support to the security forces operating in the area. I reiterate: Anyone trying to harm the citizens of Israel will pay the price,” he said.
The terrorist approached the Sterns’ vehicle as it passed a road inside the town of Huwara, known for being a hotbed of terror. He opened fire with a Carlo-style submachine gun favored by Palestinian terrorists.
Israeli security forces work at the scene where a Palestinian gunman opened fire at an Israeli vehicle, wounding two people, in the West Bank town of Hawara, Sunday, March 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
After a terror shooting in Huwara last month that killed Israeli brothers Hallel and Yagel Yaniv, dozens of Israelis took part in a rampage against the Palestinian village, in what was later deemed the worst ever outbreak of violence from Israeli residents of the West Bank, setting fire to vehicles and houses.
The rampage left one Palestinian dead and dozens more wounded, and was broadly condemned by senior officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog and was termed a “terror attack” by military officials and several arrests were made.
Israel’s Finance Minister triggered an outcry when called for Huwara to be “wiped out,” in comments that he later apologized for.
Huwara has been the site of dozens of terror attacks dating back to the Second Intifada in the early 2000s, including several car-ramming attacks, IEDs, and pipe bombings.
The attack took place as Israeli and Palestinian delegations met in the Egyptian town of Sharm el-Sheikh in an attempt to “curb and counter violence, incitement and inflammatory statements” and “prevent further violence,” a joint statement from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan and the US said, adding that the parties would work together to “advance security, stability and peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
According to the communique, Israel committed to “stop discussion of any new settlement units for 4 months and to stop authorization of any outposts for 6 months.”
The previous summit in Aqaba, Jordan, last month was also met with violence from Huwara with the terrorist shooting of the Yaniv brothers.
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