By Pesach Benson
JERUSALEM — An Israeli soldier was killed and five other people were injured when a Palestinian terrorist rammed his truck into a group of soldiers in central Israel on Thursday morning, Aug. 31.
The scene of a terror attack at a Jerusalem light rail stop, Aug. 30, 2023. (Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS)
The attack took place at the Maccabim checkpoint near the Israeli city of Modiin. The driver then fled on Route 443 towards the Hashmonaim checkpoint about six km away. Soldiers at the second checkpoint shot and killed the Palestinian when he failed to respond to calls to stop.
The soldier was declared dead by doctors at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center.
The five people injured included a Palestinian teen and two soldiers at the first checkpoint. A couple in their 20s were injured on Route 443 when the truck collided with them on the way to Hashmonaim checkpoint.
“We arrived at the scene with large forces and saw three young men, one of them unconscious and suffering from stomach and head injuries. We immediately gave them life-saving medical treatment in the field and evacuated them in intensive care vehicles to the hospital, with one in critical condition, one in serious condition and the third in mild condition,” said Magen David Adom paramedic Avi Schiff at the Maccabim checkpoint.
Palestinian media identified the terrorist as 41-year-old Daoud Abd Razak Faiz, a father of five from the nearby Palestinian town of Deir ‘Ammar. Police officials said Faiz had a permit to work in Israel. They added that he had entered Israel on foot, and that the truck he drove was not registered in his name.
“I extend my condolences to the family of the victim of this morning’s vehicular attack and wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said being briefed on the attack. “This was an attack with severe consequences.”
So far in 2023, including today, Palestinian terrorists have killed 36 people — 35 Israelis and an Italian tourist — in Israel.
The truck ramming came on the heels of a Palestinian attack on a convoy of Jewish worshippers making their way to the Tomb of Joseph in Nablus overnight. An Israeli officer and three soldiers escorting the convoy were injured when an improvised explosive device was detonated as they passed by.
The wounded soldiers were evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah. The officer and two of the soldiers were lightly wounded, and the other in moderate condition, the IDF said.
Also overnight, a 14-year-old Palestinian stabbed an Israeli man at a light rail station in Jerusalem. The Palestinian was shot and killed by a Border Police Officer who witnessed the attack.
The Israeli man was moderately wounded.
