Names of Halamish terror attack victims released
Yosef Salomon, 70, and his children Haya Salomon, 46, and Elad Salomon, 35, were murdered by a 19-year-old Palestinian while they were celebrating the birth of a new grandson; grandmother Tovah, who was seriously wounded 'remembers the entire incident.'
Yosef's wife Tovah Salomon, 68, who was seriously wounded in the attack, "was close to the front door, saw the attacker coming in and remembers the entire incident well—from the moment the attacker came in to the stabbing of the other family members," said Dr. Ofer Merin, the head of trauma at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.
Dr. Merin said Tovah's situation has improved. "She was stabbed several times in the back and was brought to us bleeding but stable. Shortly afterwards she underwent surgery," he said.
Elad Salomon was living in the city of Elad in central Israel and working in computers. He is survived by a wife and five children.
"Elad was a happy man and a devoted father of five," his friend Assaf said. "He took a break from to be with the twins who were born a year ago, while his wife went back to work. He was friendly, a family man. Elad was salt of the Earth, with strong ties to the Land of Israel. He was a moderate man who didn't like talking politics."
Haya Salomon was a second grade homeroom teacher at the girls' school Noam HaMeiri in Lod.
The attack took place on Friday night at around 9:30pm, when ten members of the family sat down for Friday night dinner as well as to celebrate a new grandchild.
A preliminary investigation found that that the terrorist, 19-year-old Omar al-Abed from the nearby village of Kobar, surprised the family and managed to stab four of its members.
Elad Salomon's wife managed to save herself and the five children who came to visit their grandparents by hiding them in a nearby room, after which she called the police and shouted there was a terrorist in the house who was stabbing those still in the living room. Rescue teams were alerted and rushed to the scene.
The victims fought the terrorist and shouted for help. A neighbor who is also a paramedic serving in the IDF's canine Special Forces unit Oketz heard their cries and quickly responded by shooting the terrorist through a window, thereby preventing more casualties among the family.
Another paramedic, who treated the victims of the attack, said the terrorist was lying next to his victims after being shot. He then tried to attack the paramedics, but was stopped by security forces who had also arrived at the scene. The terrorist was evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva for treatment, and has since been released and taken into custody.
"During Friday night dinner with my family we heard screams from the neighbors' home," recounted 22-year-old Staff Sgt. A., who neutralized the terrorist.
"Me and my father went outside, and when I realized it was a serious incident, I ran inside to bring my weapon," he continued. "I stood outside and saw the terrorist through the window. I realized I had to be level-headed and professional. I shot him one bullet that hit him in the stomach and neutralized him. Mainly, I was at the right place at the right time."
He said this wasn't the first time he experienced such an incident. "Three years ago, something similar happened in my home with my younger sister, when a terrorist came in and attacked her. It was a miracle that incident ended less seriously than this time," he said.
The soldier's mother also recounted the attack against the Salomon family. "We were afraid, we didn't know if there was more than one terrorist. My son told him father, 'don't run in there without a rifle.' He took the gun from the safe, jumped into their yard and shot one bullet through the window. My husband kicked the knife (away). I told my son, 'You're a great hero!' He tried to save them afterwards, but there was nothing he could do," she said.
Halamish residents criticized the defense establishment over the fact the terrorist was able to climb over the settlement's security fence.
"There were decisions made that weren't carried out. Things were budgeted but not implemented," spokesmen Viktor Vaknin and Ofir Steinbaum said. "The defense minister and IDF chief were here today. They know where the failures were."
They explained that "seven months ago, a terrorist burned 15 houses in the community and came through the same route the terrorist from last night came through. Now, the defense measures failed again."
They vowed to "do whatever it takes to return the sense of security. Part of this is closing that route, so it is no longer a threat to us."
