Davidi Perl, head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, released the following letter to the tzibur at large following the latest terrorist attack in the area. On Tuesday, 30 Shevat, a man in his 20s was stabbed and moderately wounded by a terrorist as he was jogging in the area of N’vei Daniel.

Dear Residents of Gush Etzion,

This afternoon a man by the name of Tomer Detor who lives in Rosh Tzurim was running along the Derech HaAvos path. While he was running, a terrorist walked up to him and stabbed him; supposedly this terrorist is from a village called Nachalin. Tomer fought back and protected himself but none the less the terrorist probably fled back to his village.

Another person who was running with Tomer prior to the attack was able to call the emergency services and they immediately arrived on the scene. Thank G-d Tomer is in good condition and he is currently with his family at Shaare Zedek Hospital. All security forces in the area are now looking for this terrorist.

This attack is the third one during this past week, Sifrei Kodesh from a shul near Rosh Tzurim were burnt http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/383882/video-of-the-damaged-shul-established-in-memory-of-the-three-murdered-yeshiva-boys-hyd.html and this morning there was an attempted stabbing outside of Karmei Tzur. http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/384070/palestinian-terror-armed-terrorist-apprehended-at-karmei-tzur.html Due to the fact that a resident from Karmei Tzur noticed the terrorist approaching the entrance to the yishuv, she was able to alert the local security forces and they apprehended the terrorist.

These three incidents occrued outside of our yishuvim but they still took place in our living space. This is all in addition to the rocks and firebombs which are thrown at cars on a daily basis.

As a result of the daily terror attacks, we had an emergency meeting with the local military commanders in order for them to explain to us what is being done to stop these attacks. The army is doing a lot in order to deal with this situation, they have increased the amount of soldiers in the yishuvim, additional soldiers on the roads, daily patrols in the Arab villages, but it would seem that there is still a lot to be done in order to stop this. The majority of these steps need to be taken by the government and army.

The situation is complex and yet we demand from ourselves to continue with our daily lives while maintaining a watchful eye.

It is important to note, that there is an element of imitation in this wave of terror attacks. Once one terrorist is successful many others rush to imitate him. That is why it is important that we do not give these terrorists a sense that they are successful. Together with our awareness and the army’s actions, we can stop the next terror attack.

If you own a weapon, we ask that you carry it with you at all times. Be aware of your surroundings at all times and if you need to run errands outside of your yishuv you should try and do them in pairs or groups of people. As soon as you notice anything suspicious, you must notify the security forces.

We wish a refuah shleima to Tomer and his family.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)