Terrorist murders Israeli father of 2 in Samaria in drive-by shooting

The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is affiliated with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction, claimed responsibility for the shooting.

By World Israel News Staff

A Palestinian terrorist shot and critically wounded an Israeli civilian Tuesday morning near the Jewish community of Hermesh in northwestern Samaria.

Meir Tamari, 32, sustained a bullet wound to the upper body and was treated at the scene before being evacuated by helicopter to hospital, Magen David Adom medics said.

He arrived unconscious and in critical condition at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera, where he was pronounced dead.

“The wounded man arrived with a fatal injury. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the doctors, the team had to pronounce him dead. The family has been notified. The hospital shares in the family’s grief,” the hospital said in a statement.

Israeli forces launched a manhunt for the shooter, who fled the scene.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is affiliated with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction, claimed responsibility for the shooting.

“The writing was on the wall. If the checkpoint had been active, the attack would have been avoided,” charged Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, noting that no IDF soldiers were present, JNS reported.

“This is a reality where the security checkpoints do not exist and the terrorist can go freely and return freely, and five minutes after he was shooting he is drinking coffee in his house in the village. It costs us in blood,” Dagan said.

This was not the first time that Dagan lamented that lack of security for Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Just last week, for example, he reiterated his demand after a woman and her four daughters narrowly escaped death when a terrorist shot at their car on a road in Samaria.

“We cannot keep relying on miracles,” the Council head said after that incident. “Just a few minutes from there, Hallel and Yagel Yaniv were murdered [in Huwara]. There are so many terror attacks. Unfortunately, this government has not yet changed its approach, and I say to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense and all the ministers: The government has direct responsibility for the deterioration in security.”

“We will not agree that in the center of the State of Israel, precious families like this one drive and feel like they’re sitting ducks,” he added.

‘Our country is at war’

Gush Etzion Regional Council Mayor Shlomo Ne’eman,, chairman of the Yesha Council, echoed Dagan’s call for a stronger response to wave of terror.

“It was a serious attack, a dead Jew, a resident of Hermesh was murdered by terrorists who are financed by the PA. We share in the sorrow of the family and his relatives,” he said.

“Unfortunately, even with this terrible murder, the writing was on the wall. There have been dozens of shooting terrorist attacks over the past month, especially in northern Samaria. This is not about isolated shooting attacks, but a wave of terrorism that affects the citizens of the State of Israel almost daily. We are again demanding that the security establishment and the government prioritize the safety of the residents of Judea and Samaria. The immediate answer is to deal with the terrorists heavy-handedly and carry out an operation in order to confiscate their weapons until the PA’s stockpiles have been depleted.

“Our country is at war. And we expect a real war against a brutal enemy,” he stated.