A metal rod was thrown at a car traveling along Highway 5 near the central West Bank Palestinian village of Mas-ha on Saturday night, piercing the windshield and leaving the driver suffering from shock, authorities said. The driver was treated by Magen David Adom paramedics and released home.
Merav Ben Avraham, 23, from Ramat Gan, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, told ynet that she and two other women were driving from Kedumim toward Petah Tikva when they suddenly heard “a boom.”
“We saw the rod inside the car. We panicked and thought it was a terror attack,” she said. “We kept driving and tried to stay calm. We called the emergency hotline but were afraid to stop, worried something else might happen. I feel like we were saved by a miracle. It could have ended very differently.”
She said the women continued to the nearby checkpoint, where security forces assisted them. “The forces handled everything quickly and professionally. I hope they catch the attacker and anyone involved. People in Samaria deserve to feel safe.”
The IDF launched searches for the assailant. Troops from the Ephraim Regional Brigade raided Mas-ha, dismantled security cameras and collected evidence. Police forensic investigators took the metal rod for laboratory testing.
The Shin Bet domestic security agency is involved in the investigation. A security official said police, working with the Shin Bet, would use “all available tools, including forensic labs, to bring the perpetrator to justice.”
The IDF said in a statement that forces “rushed to the a-Zawiya area in the Ephraim Brigade sector following a report of a terrorist who threw a metal rod toward a passing vehicle. No injuries, damage to the vehicle. IDF and Shin Bet are conducting searches and questioning suspects.”
Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, called for sweeping measures against the village. “We expect significant steps, including cordoning off the village, imposing a curfew, going house to house,” he said. “This was a terror attack that ended in a miracle. It must be treated as a serious attack. We will not accept a return of terrorism to the region.”
The incident comes four days after the IDF and Shin Bet announced an “extensive operation” to disrupt terrorist activity in the northern West Bank. The operation, led by the Menashe, Samaria and Commando brigades, has included raids, arrests and curfews across what the military calls the “five-village area,” including Tammoun and Tubas, in what officials say is a bid to prevent “terrorist entrenchment.”