Israeli woman, 40, shot dead near Hebron; male companion listed as being in critical condition. Six-year-old girl unharmed.
By World Israel News Staff
An Israeli woman was murdered in a terror shooting attack on Route 60, near Hebron, in Judea and Samaria on Monday morning. She was later identified as Batsheva Nigri, a 40-year-old kindergarten teacher and mother of three who hailed from Efrat.
According to Hebrew-language media, two Israeli motorists were struck by gunfire from a passing vehicle at the Beit Hagai junction, south of Hebron. Nigri died of her wounds several minutes after the shooting, while the man, 39, was listed as being in critical condition.
Miraculously, Nigri’s six-year-old daughter, who was sitting in the back seat, was not harmed physically.
The Magen David Adom emergency medical service treated the wounded at the scene, the group said in a media statement.
Security forces, including IDF troops, are engaged in a manhunt to locate the terrorists. The perpetrators apparently successfully fled the scene following the terror attack.
In footage circulating on social media from the scene, a long line of cars is stopped on a two-lane road near the shooting.
Heavily armed security forces are seen walking near a vehicle, which appears to be the car in which the victims were traveling.
“Our hearts go out together with the Ravid family,” said Efrat Mayor Oded Raviv. “There are no words that can express how great the pain is and how much the children who were already expecting to see the kindergarten teacher they loved so much will miss her.
“Together with all the council’s employees, we are working to support the family and provide pedagogical support for the children.”
“We send a warm embrace to the family of the victim at this difficult time and pray for the recovery of the injured driver,” said Gush Etzion Regional Council Mayor Shlomo Ne’eman.
“The terrorists act as a result of the hate education and funding from the PA, with the goal of massacring us. The government simply can’t continue down the path of the terrible Oslo agreements.
“We demand that the government of Israel and the IDF forces change course and act with all means at their disposal to deal a severe blow to the terrorist infrastructure and the terrorist PA. The supporters, the instigators, and the sponsors of terrorism can no longer continue with their daily routine. There is a war here and in a war one must behave accordingly,” he said.
The shooting on Monday morning comes after a string of terror attacks against Israeli civilians in in recent days.
On Saturday, an Israeli father and son were murdered in the Palestinian Authority-administered enclave of Huwara. The pair had reportedly traveled to the town to repair a car.
On Sunday evening, an Israeli motorist mistakenly drove into the PA town of Turmus Ayya. He was confronted by an angry mob and had to be extracted by the IDF.
The Israeli man was lightly wounded by a stone thrown at him by a local. A mob then set his car on fire.
“As the forces and the civilian left the town, a riot developed, during which several suspects threw a burning object and threw stones,” the IDF said in a statement.