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Road terror: Palestinians use lasers to blind Israeli drivers

Kochav HaShahar official Reuben Shador criticized what he said was a lack of action from the IDF in dealing with the danger.

By World Israel News Staff

Palestinians seeking to run Jewish drivers off the road and cause car accidents have added a new weapon to their arsenals: lasers.

While Molotov cocktail and rock-throwing attacks targeting Jewish drivers are common in Judea and Samaria, the use of high-intensity lasers to blind motorists is gaining momentum.

According to Jewish residents of the community Kochav HaShachar, locals from the nearby Palestinian village of Kafr al-Mughayir regularly aim lasers at drivers passing on the Alon Road on the outskirts of the Jewish town.

Social media footage captured by Israeli drivers shows bright green lasers being repeatedly flashed at cars, causing temporary loss of visibility.

Kochav HaShahar official Reuben Shador criticized what he said was a lack of action from the IDF in dealing with the danger.

“Every evening they blind vehicles and drivers here with lasers. Are we waiting for it to end in disaster?” he said to Israel Hayom. “The writing is on the wall. We can’t understand why the IDF is waiting.”

Shador’s sentiments were echoed by a local resident who spoke to Israel Hayom.

“This is a life-threatening danger,” the resident said. “[But] the army hands out [informational] flyers in the village instead of making arrests and dealing with the terrorists. What are they waiting for? For drivers to lose control and be dead, G-d forbid?”

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In a statement to Israel Hayom, the Israeli army acknowledged that the laser-blinding attacks on motorists is an issue of concern.

“The IDF takes this phenomenon seriously and works in a variety of ways and in cooperation with the other defense forces in the area to eliminate this phenomenon,” the military said.

While attacks on Jewish drivers in Judea and Samaria largely go unreported in mainstream media, dozens of Israelis are wounded in car accidents caused by Molotov cocktail and rock attacks each year.