Description

Photos:
Edna Bloshtine. Credit: Courtesy of the family. Published by Haaretz

Israeli forces at the scene of the attack, on Monday. Credit: Moti Milrod Published by Haaretz

The scene of the attack in Ra'anana, on Monday. Credit: Moti Milrod Published by Haaretz

Scene. Screenshot published by IMEMC News
___

According to emergency services, three people, including a 16-year-old boy, are in a serious condition and 14 people, including 6 children, are wounded in light and moderate conditions

by Josh Breiner, Deiaa Haj Yahia and Ran Shimoni for Haaretz
Jan 15, 2024 2:29 pm IST

A woman was killed, and 17 people were wounded on Monday in a ramming and stabbing attack in three different scenes in the central Israeli city of Ra'anana.

The woman was later identified as 79-year-old Ra'anana resident Edna Bloshtine.

According to Magen David Adom emergency services, three people, one of whom is a 16-year-old boy, are in a serious condition and 14 people, including 6 children, are in light and moderate condition. They were taken to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva and the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv.

According to the Israeli Police, 44-year-old Mahmoud Zidat, an illegal worker from the Palestinian town of Bani Na'im in the West Bank, was arrested after ramming civilians with three different vehicles. The police have also detained the suspect's nephew, 25-year-old Ahmed Zidat from Bani Na'im, who was in the car with his uncle during the attack and had later fled the scene.

According to a preliminary investigation by the police, one of the suspects stabbed a woman and took control of her car. He then started driving and ran over people on Ahuza Street. The suspect then lost control of the car, got out of it and entered another vehicle, with which he continued to run over pedestrians on Haroshet Street.

Haaretz has learned that Mahmoud Zidat worked at a car wash in the city. When his employer asked if he was an Israeli citizen, Mahmoud presented him with an identity card stating that he was a resident of the Israeli-Arab city of Rahat. Haaretz also learned that Mahmoud has been living recently in Ra'anana's industrial district with his relative, Ahmed, joined him in search for a job.

An acquaintance of Mahmoud Zidat described him as a quiet person. "He didn't talk about anything, really didn't say anything," he told Haaretz. "The other guy [Ahmed Zidat] arrived at the car wash two days ago. He just sat there next to [Mahmoud], saying nothing," he added.

A witness to the attack, which unfolded at several locations within the city, told Haaretz that she "saw someone stab three people near the mall. [The attacker] stole a car and ran over other people."

Another witness told Haaretz that at first he thought the attack was a car accident. "I rushed there with water, and then I saw the terrorist running. One of the people shouted that it was an attack. I called the police at 13:34, and they said I was the first to report the attack."

The police Central District Commander, Avi Bitton, arrived at the scene with Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and said that the two Palestinians have apparently worked in the city's industrial district. According to the two, the investigation is led by the Police Central District and the Shin Bet security service.

According to Bitton, the police do not rule out the possibility that there are additional suspects in the attack and continue to search the area. "That's why a lot of forces are deployed here," he said.
___

Israeli Woman Killed, 17 Injured, Near Tel Aviv

by IMEMC News
Jan 15, 2024

Israeli sources have reported Monday that an elderly Israeli woman was killed, and seventeen persons were injured in what appears to be stabbing and car-ramming attacks carried out by one Palestinian in Ra’anana city near Tel Aviv.

Israeli sources said a woman, 79, was killed, three persons, including a 16-year-old boy, suffered serious wounds, and 14 others, including six children, sustained mild and moderate injuries.

Medics rushed to the area to provide the needed treatment before rushing the killed woman and the wounded to Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, and Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.

Israeli daily Haaretz quoted the police stating that the Palestinian behind the attack is Mahmoud Zeidat, 44, from Bani Neim, a Palestinian town east of Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, who was working without a permit, was allegedly taken prisoner “after ramming the Israelis with three different cars in Tel Aviv.”

Haaretz added that the Israeli police also detained Mahmoud’s nephew, Ahmad Zeidat, 25, from Bani Naim, because he was in the car with his uncle before fleeing the scene and stated that Mahmoud worked at a car wash facility in the area.

#Palestinian resistance targets #TelAviv suburb! 20 injured; one dead!

In the Ra’anana #Jewish settlement near the #Israeli capital, #Palestinian fighters captured a settler’s car after stabbing him. Then, changing the car twice, fighters drove over settlers at 3 different… pic.twitter.com/l1rjFdALR2

— @Misra_Amaresh (@misra_amaresh) January 15, 2024

The Israeli media agency also said that Zeidat was previously asked by his employer if he was “an Israeli citizen” and that he presented an identity card showing him to be from Rahat mixed city.

An eyewitness to the incident told Haaretz that she saw someone reportedly stabbing three persons near the mall before stealing a car and running over other people.

Haaretz added that “another witness said he initially thought the attack was a car accident, before rushing with water and seeing the attack before hearing of the Israelis shouting that the incident was an attack and that they saw the assailant running.”

The Israeli Central District Commander of the Israeli Police, Avi Bitton, arrived at the scene of the incident accompanied by Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and stated that it seems the two Palestinians worked at the Industrial District.

The investigation into the incident is now run by both the Police Central District and the Shin Bet Israeli security service.

While there is no known political affiliation of the Palestinian reportedly involved in the incident, the Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas, said what happened was “a natural outcome of the ongoing Israeli onslaught on the Palestinian people, especially the massacres in the Gaza Strip.”

Also Monday, Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinians, Mohammad Hasan Ibrahim Abu Sbaa’, 22, ‘Ahed Mahmoud Awlad Mohammad, 23, from Doura town near Hebron, and Fares Mahmoud Abdullah Khalifa, 37, from Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem.

On Sunday, Israeli soldiers fatally two Palestinian children, Suleiman Mohammad Suleiman Kanaan, 17, and Khaled Amer Hmeidat, 16, at the northern entrance to the city of Al-Biereh, east of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank, in addition to Ahmad Mousa Mohammad Jabarin, 16, and Jalal Issa Mohammad Jabarin, 17, near Sa’ir town, northeast of Hebron, and Lu’ay Majed Salem Soufi, 16, in the Ein Al-Sultan refugee camp north of Jericho city in the northeastern part of the occupied West Bank.

On Day 101 of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza on October 7, 2023, the Palestinian Health Ministry said the army “committed 12 massacres in the Gaza Strip, killing 132 Palestinians and wounding 252” and added that Israel has now killed at least 24.000 Palestinians and injured 60.317, in addition to 8.000 who remain missing, largely buried under the rubble of bombarded homes and building.