Days after West Bank stabbing, jogger gets back on trail
Tomer Ditur joins dozens of other runners in show of support on Etzion bloc path where attack took place
His hand bandaged and clutching an Israeli flag, a man injured in a West Bank stabbing earlier in the week joined dozens of other joggers Friday morning for a scamper in the same area where the attack took place.
Tomer Ditur, 28, joined the runners along the Patriarch’s Way trail near the Etzion bloc settlement of Neve Daniel, at the exact spot where he was attacked while out for a run on Tuesday.
“I didn’t expect to be here at all, definitely not with so many others from the [Etzion bloc] — good people who represent what we believe in — despite and because of what happened,” Ditur, out of breath, told gathered media after his run, flanked by regional council head Davidi Perl.
“This means a ton,” he added.
Posted by Lior Shechter on Friday, February 12, 2016
Ditur, from the settlement of Rosh Tzurim, suffered moderate wounds in the stabbing attack Tuesday afternoon. After a scuffle caught on camera, his assailant escaped in the direction of a nearby Palestinian village and Ditur made his way to the entrance of Neve Daniel, where he was treated before being taken to a hospital.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tig0wwCrnHo
The Friday run was arranged under the title of “Continuing to run in the Etzion Bloc,” and was meant as a show of support by area Israelis against a wave of attacks that has roiled the country for nearly five months.
“We are continuing to live our lives along with Tomer,” Perl said. “And of course, with community runs of men, women and children through the impressive vistas of the Patriarch’s Way. This is how we live our normal lives in the bloc and this is our victory.”
The popular jogging trail runs through the mountains between the settlements of Alon Shvut and Neve Daniel, south of Jerusalem.
Police are continuing to search for the attacker and have closed off the nearby Palestinian village of Nahalin, where the assailant is thought to have escaped to.
[mappress mapid=”5570″]
