Point of impact; Photo credit: Yisrael Naki
Sunday, April 5, 2020, 15:18 The restrictions implemented due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus have not prevented terrorists from throwing rocks at motorists on Route 446, damaging Jewish cars and endangering Jewish lives. On Tuesday, March 31, terrorists threw a rock at a Jewish driver traveling near the community of Nili in the Binyamin region. The rock hit the windshield directly in front of the driver’s seat, broke through the shattered glass and narrowly missed the driver. The point of impact is shown in the photograph at right.
The driver, Yisrael Naki, a 24-year old Avnei Hefetz resident and father of one child, was traveling from his home towards a new farm in the Binyamin region. Just after 16:30, as he was driving near the community of Nili, terrorists threw a rock at his car.
Naki: “The rock came flying towards the car and hit directly in front of the driver’s seat, in an absolutely straight line. By a miracle the rock was blocked by the steering wheel, did not hit me, and then bounced around a bit before it landed on the floor by the front passenger’s seat. I called the police and looked for a safe place to stop.”
After driving 500 meters Naki stopped next to an IDF checkpoint and called out to the soldiers. The police whom he had called also met him at the checkpoint. Naki described the attack to them and explained that he had not moved the rock from where it landed. An army scout and a police investigator had also arrived on the scene and they took the rock for examination. Afterwards Naki filed a complaint at the police station near the Kiriyat Sefer checkpoint.
Honenu Attorney Menashe Yado: “The incident had a high likelihood of causing lethal injury. The terrorists threw the rock at a driver and it did shatter the front windshield. By a miracle the rock was repelled by the steering wheel and did not injure the driver or cause him to lose control of the vehicle.
“This was the second incident of life-threatening rock-throwing at the same site within days of each other. The army must act with all available means to apprehend the terror cell, because in the meantime, motorists are relying on a miracle.”
Terror attacks frequently occur on Route 446. Approximately one month ago, a terrorist threw a small boulder at a Jewish car near Nili. The rock smashed through the front windshield, crossed the entire length of the car, and then the terrorists started a car chase. The driver succeeded in escaping, and then she filed a complaint with the police.
Approximately two weeks after the attack, the rock-throwing terror cell was apprehended by the army. IDF combat soldiers opened fire at the terrorists, one of whom died of his injuries. The other fled.