BICOM

A car ramming attack yesterday by the Ofra settlement left a soldier dead and another injured.

Elhai Teharlev, 20, from the Talmon settlement, northwest of Ramallah, was guarding a bus stop near Ofra in the West Bank when a Palestinian man drove his car into him and another soldier. Teharlev was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other soldier suffered light injuries.

He was buried in Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl military cemetery in a funeral also attended by several ministers and Knesset members.

Rabbi Ohad Teharlev, Elhai’s father said: “He was a special kid, full of life who brought happiness to everyone around him. He loved to sing, to play music, to swim in springs.”

In a Facebook post, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote that Elhai was very loved by his friends and family. He said: “He was an inseparable part of the community of Talmon, which today is mourning the terrible murder.”

The Palestinian driver of the car was captured by the IDF, an army spokesperson said. He was identified by Palestinian media as Malek Ahmad Mousa Hamed, 21, from the nearby town of Silwad.

Military officials said that Hamed had previously served four months in jail for attempting an attack at the settlement of Adam last year, and that this attack was the ninth in the past two years to be carried out by residents of the village. On Thursday afternoon, the IDF raided the assailant’s home and interrogated his family.

Following the attack, the IDF imposed a “breathing closure” on the West Bank town of Silwad. An Army spokesperson said: “As a result of the ramming attack, security measures are being taken in Silwad.”

There are no restrictions on entrance to the village, but residents can only exit following “security checks”.

Security forces fear that there will be a rise in violence in the lead up to the Passover holiday which begins on Monday night. Police Asst. Cmdr. Doron Turjeman told Army Radio on Sunday that they were preparing for an escalation in violence ahead of the Passover holiday.

Although in recent months the frequency of attacks has slowed, and so far, 2017 has been quieter than the previous year, 47 people have now been killed by stabbings, shootings and car rammings in a wave of Palestinian terror attacks since October 2015.