Minister Requests Reservist Return to Duty After Neutralizing Car Ramming Terrorist

An Israeli minister lauded the actions of a reservist who neutralized a terrorist after he rammed his car into Israelis on Monday, leaving two injured. A 15-year-old victim is in serious condition, while a 16-year-old is in moderate condition. Both were transported to hospitals in Jerusalem for treatment.

Police said the attacker was neutralized at the scene by an armed civilian. His medical status remains unclear.

According to the IDF, the incident unfolded at the al-Khader Junction, where the Palestinian assailant first rammed his vehicle into the two teens and then attempted a stabbing. Security sources identified him as a resident of Bayt Fajar, a Palestinian town near Beit Lechem.

The IDF reported that it has since closed off roads in the vicinity, cordoned off surrounding Palestinian villages, and launched area searches following the attack. The local settlement council later stated that the main highway where the incident took place has been reopened to traffic.

The gunman who stopped the attacker was identified as Col. (res.) Hezi Nechama, a senior reserve officer who happened to be passing through the junction when the attack occurred.

Nechama told Hebrew media that he initially believed he was witnessing a car accident. “I kept shouting ‘stop!’ and he didn’t stop. So I fired at the center of his body, and he fell,” he recounted, adding that the terrorist charged toward him with a knife.

Palestinian media named the assailant as 32-year-old Mahdi Muhammad Awad Dirieh from Beit Fajjar, near Beit Lechem. He was shot and killed at the scene.

Later, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu called on Defense Minister Yisrael Katz to reinstate Nechama to active reserve duty.

Eliyahu made the request in a formal letter sent on Tuesday.The appeal came after Nechama neutralized a terrorist in Gush Etzion earlier in the day. The attacker had carried out a car-ramming, striking two teenagers and leaving them with serious injuries.

In his letter, Eliyahu noted that Nechama “has never incited against reserve service, never betrayed, never rebelled, and never called on anyone to refuse to serve,” yet despite this, he had been removed from the reserves.

Eliyahu asked pointedly: “Why? Because he sought to win. Because he wrote a plan to bring the hostages home together with General Eiland. Because he dared to criticize the way the war is being managed by the General Staff.”