Four Israelis wounded in car crash caused by Palestinian rock throwers

Driver apparently loses control after car hit by rocks, emergency responders evacuate one man in serious condition with head injuries.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

Four Israelis were wounded Monday in a multi-vehicle car crash that occurred after one of the vehicles was reportedly hit by rocks thrown by Palestinians, the Magen David Ambulance service reported.

The incident occurred near the town of Yitzhar on Route 60, the main north-south road that runs through Judea and Samaria, when the driver of a car apparently lost control after his vehicle was hit by rocks. He then crashed into a van and another private automobile.

An MDA spokesman said three people suffered light wounds, but a fourth, a resident of Yitzhar, was seriously injured.

“When we arrived at the scene, we found vehicles with severe damage in the front,” said MDA medic Aviel Mamlia, adding that one man had a severe head injury and the civilian ambulance crew got assistance from an IDF medical team.

Firemen helped extract the seriously wounded man from the vehicle, the B’Hol News website reported.

Those involved in the crash said the collision was caused when the rocks were thrown at them as they traveled on Route 60 near the Palestinian Authority-controlled town of Burin. The Palestinian Ayn News reported that rocks were thrown at the vehicles in the area south of the Arab city of Nablus.

Israeli security forces are searching for the perpetrators.

The Shabak Israel National Security Agency reported that terror attacks in Judea and Samaria have been rising over the past several months, with 82 serious incidents reported in October, including a pipe bomb attack that wounded two IDF soldiers in the same area as the car crash.

The attacks in October included 95 firebombs, 14 pipe bombs, six cases of arson, one stabbing attack and one shooting incident. In some cases, multiple firebombs were used.

Scores of rock-throwing incidents occur monthly, but most are not tabulated by the Shabak, although vehicles that are damaged do report the incidents to local police in order to process insurance claims.

Earlier this year, the human rights group UN Watch published a report on Palestinian violations of child rights that documented how Palestinian institutions promote and encourage rock throwing.

The Israeli watchdog organization Palestinian Media Watch documented “Fatah’s guide to rock throwing for kids” in which an official Palestinian social media site published how-to instructions for Palestinian children throwing rocks at Israelis.