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Book of Esther read at shooting scene: ‘Terror only strengthens us’

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“Now, as then, our enemies are attempting to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews,” says local council head.

By World Israel News Staff

Hundreds of residents of Dolev and nearby Jewish communities gathered at the site of a recent terror attack in Samaria to read the Book of Esther, in honor of the Purim holiday on Sunday.

On Friday, a Palestinian terrorist shot at a minibus near Dolev, triggering a seven-hour-long security incident. The terrorist, armed with a sniper rifle, shot and killed Israeli soldier Ilay Garfinkel and wounded six other troops, as he moved between various hidden positions in the area.

Eventually, the terrorist was spotted by a battle helicopter and killed.

On Sunday morning, locals read the Book of Esther, an especially prescient act considering that the holiday is about Jewish victory over an ancient Persian attempt to slaughter them.

“Now, as then, our enemies are attempting to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews – young and old, women and children (Esther 3:13),” said Israel Ganz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, in a media statement.

“We can neither founder nor falter. We must go on offense against the villages in the area, and change our approach to security.”

Ganz added that security forces must be permanently stationed at the attack site, which he said residents have long said is a prime target for terrorists.

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“This intersection must be guarded. We have warned since the beginning of the war that this is a weak spot,” he continued.

“The many residents who visited this area show that we are not afraid, but we expect a change in the security and infrastructure so that what happened today, where civilians were locked in[side of their homes due to the ongoing threat], does not reoccur.”

In a joint statement, the heads of nearby towns said that the residents of the area will not be broken by attacks such as the one which occurred on Friday.

“We are here to tell our enemies that terror only strengthens us,” they said.

“Make no mistake, every attack only makes us stronger. As Zeresh said to Haman: ‘If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.'”