Terrorist kills father of six
A terrorist has killed 35-year-old Israeli and father of six, Rabbi Raziel Shevach, in the West Bank during a drive-by shooting.
A TERRORIST has killed a 35-year-old Israeli man in a drive-by shooting.
The father of six was driving in the West Bank on Tuesday evening when shots were fired from another car. Rabbi Raziel Shevach managed to phone for help, but then lost consciousness, and by the time he was taken to hospital, he was dead.
“He was injured in several different places on his body and by the time we got there he was no longer able to talk,” medic Matan Meshulam, of the Hatzalah medical organisation, told The AJN.
The attacker sprayed the car with bullets. “There were lots of holes in the car from shots,” said Meshulam. “Not one or two or 10 but more.” Soon afterwards, Guy Elad, trauma doctor at Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, announced Rabbi Shevach’s death.
Shevach was a rabbi and a mohel, and a resident of the Gilad Farm outpost, which is located near the spot of the attack. He also served on a local Chevra Kadisha, and as a medic for Magen David Adom, whose head Eli Bin described him as a driven volunteer who was “always willing to give assistance”.
The politician Betzalel Smotrich, who represents the Jewish Home party, was close to the scene, and mourned Rabbi Shevach as a “holy martyr”, while the left-wing legislator Tzipi Livni was “pained along with all of Israel”.
Israeli Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau said that his heart “was torn to pieces” when he heard about the death of the “unique, heartless and rare character of Rabbi Raziel Shevach, who gave himself a soul to save life and to preserve Torah and preserve Judaism in the Land of Israel”. Rabbi Lau described his killer as “a despicable terrorist who wanted to murder every Jew”.
At press time, the attacker was still on the loose, and Israeli forces were searching the West Bank. Always willing to give assistance. President Reuven Rivlin declared himself “certain that the security forces will bring those responsible to justice.”
Hamas’s military branch called the attack “heroic”, and said it should indicate to Israel and its supporters that “what you feared is coming”.
NATHAN JEFFAY
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