Israeli-American injured in Huwara attack recounts ordeal, calls escape ‘miraculous’

David Stern, injured in a Palestinian terror attack two days earlier, speaks from his hospital bed on March 21, 2023. (Screenshot: Twitter; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

David Stern, an Israeli-American former US Marine who was shot and injured on Sunday in a Palestinian terror attack in the West Bank town of Huwara, recounts his ordeal in a Hebrew-language address from his hospital bed.

Stern a resident of the Itamar settlement, says he was driving with his wife on Route 60 through the Palestinian town on their way to Jerusalem, when he stopped to let a man — the terrorist — cross the road.

“I noticed he was blocking one hand in a very suspicious way,” he says. “I immediately reached for my handgun, the terrorist turned toward us, and we started shooting almost at the same time.”

Stern says that after he fired about 10 shots at his attacker, the latter fled. Stern drove a few dozen meters, stopped, and started bandaging himself before an ambulance arrived.

He thanks God, as well as the Israeli nation “for the prayers and the support.”

He urges the government to reintroduce military checkpoints in the area: “We cannot go on like this. We miraculously escaped the attack, but what about the next family?”