BICOM

A two-year-old girl sustained moderate injuries to her head yesterday evening after the family car being driven by her mother in Jerusalem was struck by rocks.

The attack took place in the predominantly Jewish neighbourhood of Armon Hanatziv, which buttresses the line which divided the city prior to 1967 and is situated close to the Arab neighbourhood of Sur Baher. The girl, Avigail Ben-Zion was treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital, where her injuries were described as “moderate.”

Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said police suspect the attack was nationalistically motivated, adding that stones had been thrown at a number of vehicles in the area during the day. Police later arrested four local Arab youths, aged between 15-20 years old, who will be brought before the Jerusalem District Court this morning for a remand extension hearing.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat visited the girl and her family in hospital and told Channel Ten that such attacks needed to be taken seriously, saying “It must be made clear to everyone that a stone is a weapon for all intents and purposes and it must be viewed this way.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also commented on the incident, saying during a ceremony at the Western Wall to mark the Jewish festival of Chanukah, “We will find these criminals and bring them to justice.”

Yesterday’s attack follows a series of violent incidents during the past two months, which have left Israelis either dead or injured. Last month, an Israeli man was bludgeoned to death in the Jordan Valley and a week beforehand, a nine-year-old girl was shot by an assailant just outside her home in Psagot. In September, an IDF soldier was kidnapped and murdered near Beit Amin and another was shot dead in Hebron.