“I drove to class in the morning when an Arab driver hit my car,” said Yehuda Stein of Sheba Medical Center where he was treated for minor injuries he received during the incident.
Yehuda Stein at Sheba Medical Center
(Photo: Roi Rubinstein)
“It hit the front of my car and I lost control, moving towards an IDF jeep.”
At that point, Shin Bet security group officials assumed the driver was expected to overtake them and open fire at the vehicle’s windshield.
“Suddenly I heard boots and bullets flying through the wind,” he said. “I saw the hole and realized someone was shooting at me. The only bullet I saw was flying about 20-30 cm (8-12 inches) from my head.”
Stein was not hit by gunfire although he was seriously injured from the first car and shrapnel crash.
Stein said he stopped at his car and bowed his head.
Stein’s car at the scene
(Photo: TPS)
“I was convinced that the Palestinian driver from earlier on was shooting at me, that it was a terrorist attack.”
After Stein stopped his vehicle, soldiers approached him and ordered him to land. Stein made it clear that he was Jewish, at which point the soldiers laid down their weapons and treated him.
The 18-year-old suffered several bruises from the crash and from shrapnel.
“A piece of shrapnel hit me in the chest, there was a lot of blood and [the soldiers] I helped, “he said from his hospital bed. I then realized that they may have shot me by mistake. I was scared, but they shot me for a reason and I understand them. “
The erroneous hunting scene
(Photo: TPS)
Stein said he believed the officer appeared to be standing with his back to the scene and ordered him to open fire because he believed it was a ramming attack .
“He wanted to neutralize me. It was a miracle,” he said.
The Shin Bet said shortly after the incident that this was a matter of erroneous identity.
“During an operation in the Bir Zeit area, a vehicle was quickly approached by the forces after it collided with another vehicle. The forces suspected that this was a car ramping attack and opened they fire, “said the Shin Bet.
A bullet hole can be seen in the car’s windshield
(Photo: TPS)
“No one was injured in the shooting. An initial ground investigation showed this was not an attack attempt.”