An 18-year-old named Shneur Zalman from Rosh Ha’ayin survived a terrifying shooting incident near the Ariel Industrial Zone on Wednesday. Now recovering at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, he shared his harrowing experience.
“I was traveling in a vehicle and suddenly I saw a green laser pointed at me,” he recalled from his hospital bed. “I pressed the gas, but then I heard a string of nearly 20 bullets hitting the vehicle. The steering wheel locked, and I managed to escape on foot towards the industrial zone.”
His mother explained that spotting the laser gave him a brief but crucial moment to realize he was in danger and attempt to flee.
“I immediately felt that it was a terror attack. There have been such cases in the area. They shot at soldiers in the same spot. I fled on foot for ten minutes with a bullet in my hand,” he added.
His mother, Yisraela, expressed her overwhelming relief that the situation had not ended in an even greater tragedy. “I am comforting myself by reminding myself that he was only hurt, and that G-d forbid we could have been without him today, that’s all.”
She first learned of the attack while watching television. “I saw the Patriots program and I heard about a terror attack and a boy of about 20 who was injured. I wrote in the family chat and my son didn’t answer. And then his father called and I immediately screamed, ‘What happened to Zalmy?’ I immediately felt they had hurt my child.”
The situation became even more alarming when her daughter, who works for Magen David Adom (MDA), called her in tears, fueling her worst fears.
“I told myself, ‘They killed my child.’ And then a paramedic called me and said that he is conscious. When I arrived at the hospital, he was conscious but covered in blood. The doctors said he lost five liters of blood. It’s an open miracle.”
Reflecting on what happened, Shneur Zalman emphasized the need for stronger measures in the region. “I experienced a miracle. We need to treat the front of Judea and Samaria like Gaza, eliminate the terror infrastructure and not just take out one cell or another.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
