Scene of rock-throwing attack near Ariel. Photo" Gilad Sadeh, Tazpit News Agency.

Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli vehicles across Judea and Samaria on Thursday evening, March 14, leaving an Israeli infant in critical condition.

According to Tazpit News Agency, a serious traffic collision took place at the Gitai Avisar junction, near Ariel in Samaria in what appeared to be the result of rock throwing by a group of Arabs.  According to eye witnesses, Arabs throwing rocks were able to strike a bus on the road, as well as a passing truck, lightly injuring both drivers.  The truck driver was subsequently forced to pull over and a car that followed was also struck by the rocks. The car’s driver lost control of her vehicle and crashed into the parked truck, around 6:30 p.m.

The family inside the car was seriously injured in the crash, with the mother suffering serious injuries. The mother’s two-year-old girl was left in critical condition, while her other two daughters, ages 4 and 6, suffered moderate injuries.

Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedics, police, and firefighting crews arrived on scene to treat the family. The mother who was trapped in the vehicle, which had been crushed by the truck, had to be extricated out.  The four family members, from the nearby community of Yakir, were then transported by ambulance to Petah Tikva’s Beilinson Hospital.

In another rock-throwing incident, around the same time and on the same road, another Israeli vehicle was hit, and its passengers from the community of Eli – a father and his 10-month-old baby – were slightly injured, with the baby receiving light shrapnel wounds to its face.

Israeli settlers gather together to protest at site of rock attack near Ariel on Thursday night. Photo: Koby Shayo.

There were several other areas in Judea and Samaria were rock-throwing on passing vehicles took place on Thursday evening. IDF and police forces scouted the area to locate the group of Palestinians throwing the rocks at Israeli civilians. They are suspected to come from an Arab village near Ariel.

“Rock terror is a daily occurrence in Judea and Samaria,” one resident told Tazpit News Agency. “Only when someone is injured, does this dangerous act receive any media attention.”

Following the incidents, Yesha Council chairman, Avi Roeh turned to the IDF and Minister of Security to demand that security forces respond more strongly to the rock throwing phenomenon. “A rock can kill and that is how security forces should address this situation,” said Roeh.

“These tragic incidents are becoming increasingly more commonplace every day in Judea and Samaria. Tonight’s events are terror attacks and must be addressed as such,” he told Tazpit News Agency.

In Jerusalem, a rocket-throwing incident on French Hill at an Egged bus at 10 p.m. injuring an Israeli civilian, whose head was hit by shrapnel. He was transported in light condition to the Hadassah University Medical Center on Mount Scopus.

At least seven people were injured on Thursday night in 10 different rock-throwing incidents, mostly in Judea and Samaria.

A senior IDF source told Israel’s Channel 10 News that, “We have seen a 50 percent upsurge in rock throwing incidents since the announcement of [US President Barack] Obama’s visit to the country.”