House set ablaze in Yitzhar
Photo: Yitzhar Regional Council
Settlers: PM condemns us while ignoring stabbing attack
Yitzhar residents claim only political voices condemning damage to Palestinian villages have emerged, while stabbing of 9-year old in their midst totally ignored; father recounts details of attack
The West Bank settlement of Yitzhar and the nearby village of Asira al-Kabaliya are still raging over the stabbing attack that occurred on Saturday and the riots that ensued.
Illegal Revenge
Prime minister harshly criticizes Yitzhar residents who launched revenge campaign in West Bank village following stabbing attack which left nine-year-old child injured. 'The phenomenon of violent and brutal riots is intolerable,' he says
Yitzhar's residents claim that they are being criticized while Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and leftist organizations decry the damage done to the Palestinians, blatantly ignoring the stabbing of 9-year-old Tuvia Shtetman.
Tuvia was discharged from the hospital on Sunday afternoon, after being treated for the wounds he sustained during the attack. His father, Adi, recounted the incident. "On Saturday morning the children smelled something burning," he wrote in a statement.
It was then that they realized a nearby house was on fire. Adi Shtetman asked Tuvia to run over to the neighbors' house, to inform them of this. He did not realize that the igniter of the fire was a Palestinian terrorist.
"In the doorway Tuvia came face to face with a terrorist holding a knife, who had arrived to kill Jews," Shtetman wrote. "He stabbed him seven times, and Tuvia fought with him and even broke his knife. The terrorist stopped stabbing and threw him into a 4-meter (13 foot) ditch."
Tuvia's parents were only informed of this when their wounded son returned home. His father stressed that despite the attack, the settlers would not be discouraged. "The attempt at a murderous attack is just another in a long line of schemes conducted by the Arab residents of the village," he wrote.
Following the incident 15 residents of Yitzhar arrived at a hilltop adjacent to the settlement, with the aim of establishing a new outpost there in retaliation to the attack. They were evacuated by the IDF almost immediately, but promised they would return.
