Israeli police announced Sunday they have opened an investigation and are collecting evidence following reports of a severe poisoning attack on grazing lands at Tel Talpiot Hill in the Judea and Samaria. According to the report, terrorists from the village of Qusra infiltrated the grazing areas and spread lethal poison hidden in food scraps used as bait for the sheep herd—an incident that killed two dogs as a result of the poisoning.
Police forces and forensic identification teams, accompanied by IDF troops, entered the scene Sunday afternoon and began identification and examination work in the field.
1+Earlier in the day, it was reported that Arab terrorists from the village of Qusra infiltrated the hill’s grazing lands overnight and spread lethal poison hidden inside food scraps that served as bait for the sheep herd. The first victims were the hill’s guard dogs, which walked ahead of the flock. They began developing severe symptoms within minutes, and the shepherd—who noticed them convulsing and foaming at the mouth—rushed to move the sheep herd away from the area.
Before he could provide medical treatment to the two dogs, they died. As of now, no arrests of suspects have been reported. This morning’s poisoning attack joins a series of incidents as part of the poisoning terror campaign that has been intensifying in Judea and Samaria. Just last week, terrorists from the village of al-Mu’ayyir poisoned a flock of sheep at Shalisha Farm in the Binyamin region, and according to data from Rescuers Without Borders of Judea and Samaria, no fewer than seven poisoning attacks have occurred at various settlement points in the area since the beginning of the year.
1+“Poisoning terror has become the enemy’s preferred weapon, and the security establishment treats it with indifference,” residents of Tel Talpiot Hill warned this morning following the incident. “This has already become a regular pattern of operation. Terrorists arrive under cover of darkness, spread lethal poison, and return to the village undisturbed. Almost no one gets arrested, and this abandonment will end in disaster.” At the same time, the hill’s residents emphasized that despite the severe incident, their hold on the strategic territory at Jabal Ein Eina will only strengthen: “We will only deepen our roots here, and we will not be deterred by such terror attacks or any others.”