Shneur Zalman, 18, a resident of Rosh HaAyin, was injured last night in a shooting attack near the Ariel industrial zone. Today (Thursday), in a call from the Beilinson Medical Center, where he is hospitalized in the orthopedic department, he spoke about the moments of terror.
""I was driving in a car and suddenly I saw a green laser pointed at me. I felt it was an attack right away," he said. "I stepped on the gas, but then I heard a burst of almost 20 bullets hitting the car. The steering wheel locked and I managed to escape on foot towards the industrial area. I ran on foot for ten minutes with a bullet in my hand.".
His mother, Israela, a mother of seven, said that the laser aimed by the terrorist gave him two critical seconds to realize that he was under attack and try to escape: "I only console myself with the fact that he was injured, and that, God forbid, we could have been here today without him. That's the only thing.".
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The mother said that she heard the first reports of a terrorist attack in Samaria and immediately became concerned about her son's fate. "I heard the program 'The Patriots,' Yinon Magal talking two or three times about a terrorist attack and a 20-year-old boy who was injured. I was shaking with stress and wrote in the family group. My son didn't answer. Then his father called and I immediately screamed, 'What happened to Zalmi? I felt like they had hurt my child.'".
Her daughter, who works at MDA, called her crying, and the fear intensified.
""I said to myself, 'They killed my child.' Then a paramedic called me and said he was conscious. When I got to the hospital, he was conscious but covered in blood. The doctors said he had lost five liters of blood - it looked like childbirth.".
""It's a clear miracle," added Israela, "Every rookie hits a bull's eye, and the terrorist fired 18 bullets and he stayed alive.".
Zalman's mother also reveals a more personal side of the story. "We called him Shneur Zalman because we were Chabad members once." She notes that even the doctor who treated her son was surprised by the number of pills he missed.
But beyond the miracle of survival, the mother and son's words convey a sense of rage and a demand for a harsher response. Shneur Zalman says: "I had a miracle, we need to treat the Judea and Samaria front like Gaza, eliminate the terrorist infrastructure and not just deal with this or that unit.".
Israela also shares her concerns about the future regarding Shneur Zalman's military service. "What worries me is that his profile has dropped and he can't be in combat. I have two sons, one of whom is enlisting soon, and Zalman was supposed to enlist in August.".
Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Council, responded to the shooting attack: "A third shooting incident in the same area cell in a short time, and unfortunately we are not receiving satisfactory and clear answers from the IDF and the security establishment despite our attempts. I demand a change of approach, to turn the tables. This is another serious attack that proves what we have been shouting over and over again - Judea and Samaria must be treated as a front for everything, just like Gaza and Lebanon. The terrorism here is not a collection of local events, but an organized and ongoing attack against the settlement and the entire Jewish people.".
""The response must be clear: not a targeted treatment of this or that cell, but a broad and orderly attack that will hit terror and its infrastructure with force. Our enemies must understand that they will pay a heavy price for any attempt to harm us.".
Dagan added: "Only the IDF should and should deal with terrorism. The residents of Samaria, along with all Israeli citizens, support the IDF and demand a change in approach and clear answers.".
I call on the government and the security establishment to act immediately and decisively to restore deterrence, deepen our grip on the territory, and provide real security to the residents of Judea and Samaria, and thereby to the residents of the entire State of Israel!""
