A serious incident unfolded today (Friday) in Gush Etzion, where a 90-year-old radical left-wing activist allegedly deliberately rammed a Jewish couple who own a local farm. The woman sustained minor injuries in the incident. Security forces were dispatched to the scene, and the circumstances are under investigation. The suspect was detained for questioning.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who chairs the Religious Zionism party and serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry, claimed the incident had resulted from what he called an ‘incitement campaign’ by Democrats party leader Yair Golan and other left-wing figures.
Police reported: “A short time ago, a report was received of a vehicle striking a woman at Tomer Farm near the Gush Junction. Officers from the Etzion Police Station in the Judea and Samaria District were dispatched to the scene. A preliminary investigation found that an Israeli man arrived at the farm and began filming with a camera. An argument then broke out between him and a teenage resident of the farm. The suspect got back into his vehicle, began driving, and lightly struck the teen, who did not require medical treatment.”
“Moments later, a female resident approached the vehicle to question the suspect about his actions. He continued driving, struck her, and dragged her several meters as she clung to the vehicle. She sustained minor injuries. The 90-year-old suspect was detained by police for further questioning, and his vehicle was seized. The investigation is ongoing.”
Smotrich called on the president to condemn the violence and demanded that Yair Golan, Gadi Eisenkot, and Naftali Bennett retract their statements pledging to evacuate the outposts after the elections. The minister argued they must clarify their position regarding the incident and the settlers there. “Any other response will constitute a continuation of the bloodletting of the outpost pioneers,” Smotrich said.