Grandfather of baby who died after attack demands tough government response

At right-wing rally outside prime minister’s residence, Chaim Silberstein calls for action to prevent future terrorism and for a settlement to be founded in his grandson’s memory

The grandfather of a baby who died after being born prematurely to a mother wounded during a terror shooting in the West Bank, excoriated the government on Thursday for its response to such attacks.

“Will my sweet grandson Amiad Yisrael be just a statistic?” Chaim Silberstein said at a rally outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem.

Silberstein’s daughter Shira Ish-Ran was one of seven Israelis wounded Sunday in a drive-by shooting outside the settlement of Ofra. Ish-Ran — who was 30 months pregnant — gave birth in an emergency Caesarian-section, but the baby, who was treated in intensive care, died Wednesday.

The family named the newborn Amiad Yisrael shortly before he was buried.

“Will those injured not be remembered and the security of our brothers and sisters deprived because maybe they’ll try and advance another process, sign another meaningless paper or be scared of another anonymous politician in a friendly country?” Silberstein said.

Amichai (left) and Shira Ish-Ran, wounded in a December 9, 2018, terrorist attack outside Ofra in the West Bank, are seen at their wedding (Courtesy of the family)

“Mr. Prime Minister, I ask and demand that in the name of my grandson, whose blood cries out from his fresh grave on the Mount of Olives in our eternal united capital, decisive and successful action be taken to prevent the next attack,” he added.

Silberstein also called for a new settlement to be built and named after his grandson, according to Channel 10 news.

Relatives of Amichai and Shira Ish-Ran attend the funeral of their baby, who was born prematurely after his mother was wounded in a terror attack outside the West Bank settlement of Ofra, at Mount of Olives ceremony in Jerusalem on December 12, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

In addition to Sunday’s attack, the protest outside the Prime Minister’s Residence came after two Israeli soldiers were killed earlier Thursday in a shooting near the Givat Assaf settlement outpost.

A third Israeli soldier was also critically wounded in the attack and a female civilian seriously injured.

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan said Israel was “losing its deterrence” and called for the government to give a “true answer” to the attacks.

“We demand the declaration of a new settlement named after each of the murdered,” he said at the protest.

Dagan, a vocal settler leader, said settlement municipalities would go on strike Sunday to protest the government’s handling of the attacks.

“We aren’t going to work. We are going to sit outside the Prime Minister’s Office until we see true change,” he said.

The demand by settlers for further settlement construction came despite Netanyahu’s earlier promise to legalize thousands of illegally built homes in the West Bank and approve new building projects.