Soldier hurt from stones thrown in Nazareth
IDF soldier lightly wounded by stones thrown by unknown perpetrators; stones thrown at bus in West Bank, no injuries
An IDF soldier was lightly wounded on Monday after unknown perpetrators threw stones at him in Nazareth, in northern Israel. He suffered wounds to his head and was evacuated to the hospital for medical treatment. Nazareth police is searching the area for possible suspects and noted that it would act "with a heavy hand against those who throw stones and endanger the lives of people".
"Ever since the police shooting that killed Khair Hamdan, there have been a number of stone throwing incidents in Kafr Kanna at buses carrying Jews," said Anan, a resident of Nazareth.
"The throwing of stones at the soldier is a continuation of the same incidents – those behind it are people whose sole purpose is to ignite the city. The residents of Nazareth are against such acts. We want to live in peace and do not want riots."
Later Monday, stones were thrown at a bus traveling in the area of Tekoa in Gush Etzion towards Jerusalem. No injuries were reported, but damage was caused to the bus' windshield.
"We passed Ma'ale Amos (a settlement in the southern West Bank) towards Efrat and then several boys stepped out from behind trees in an olive grove and threw stones at us," one passenger said. "They either threw them very hard, or used a slingshot or something else, because the impact was very intense."
Another passenger said that rock-throwing incidents are a recurring phenomenon in the area, and added that "nothing can be done. Had they thrown the stones at a vehicle without protective shields, the result would have been severe. After the incident, the driver continued driving and reported the incident to the police. We rely on drivers to know what to do, as they are already experienced in such matters.
