Combined car ramming, stabbing terror attack in central Israel kills one, leaves at least 17 wounded
Hamas praises the attack, calls it 'natural response' to Israeli 'massacres'
Two Palestinian terrorists murdered an Israeli woman and wounded 17 others, including four who are still in serious condition, by ramming cars into Israeli pedestrians in the city of Ra'anana and stabbing some of them, the Israeli police said on Monday.
Four victims were in serious condition, while another eight were in moderate condition. Three persons were lightly injured, with the rest suffering from shock.
Two terrorists were arrested by the police soon after the attacks. They were identified as the relatives Ahmad (25) and Mahmoud (44) Zaydat, both residents of the village Bani Naim near Hebron.
Both began the attack at a car wash, with one of them hitting the car of a woman, pulling her out of her car, and stabbing her before stealing the car. The 70-year-old woman survived and was rushed to a hospital, where she succumbed to her wounds.
The terrorists went on to ram their cars into pedestrians while stabbing people and stealing other cars several times.
Both the suspects were arrested relatively quickly and are being questioned, the head of the police’s Central District, Deputy Commissioner Avi Bitton said.
The wounded from the attack were taken to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, as well as the adjacent Schneider Children’s Medical Center, as several teenagers and children were also wounded.
The terrorists both had prior convictions and had crossed illegally from the West Bank into Israel to work at the car wash station, whose owner was detained for questioning.
Hours after the attack, Israeli security forces raided the homes of the terrorists in Bani Naim and detained several of their relatives and other suspects for questioning.
Earlier statements by the police had simply suggested an "irregular incident" unfolding in Ra’anana with circumstances still under investigation. Rescue crews were immediately dispatched as officers advised locals to be on high alert.
Hamas later praised the attack and called it a "natural response to the massacre and aggression in the West Bank and Gaza Strip."
Its message stated that "our people will continue to revolt in the West Bank and in Jerusalem and we call on them to escalate the struggle."
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
