IDF chief: ‘Clock ticking’ for perpetrators of deadly Samaria attack

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi on Monday vowed to bring justice to the terrorists responsible for the attack in Samaria earlier in the day that claimed the lives of three people.

Speaking during a visit to the site of the attack, Halevi said: “This is a severe attack, two [female] civilians and a police officer were killed. I extend my deepest condolences to the families.”

Israel is engaged in “intense and wide-ranging combat against terrorism in Judea and Samaria,” he continued. “We will intensify and continue this combat. For the terrorists who carried out this attack, the clock is ticking. We will find out who perpetrated this attack and reach them. We will act swiftly to bypass the town on this route and make the route safer.”

Halevi conducted a situational assessment alongside the commanding officer of the Central Command, the commanding officer of the Judea and Samaria Division and other senior commanders.

Sisters-in-law Rachel Cohen, 73, and Aliza Rice, 70, of Kedumim, were killed in the shooting on Route 55 next to the Palestinian village of Al-Funduq in northern Samaria.

Master Sgt. Elad Yaakov Winkelstein, 35, a father of two from Ein Hanatziv, who served as an investigator at the Ariel police station, was also slain.

Eight others were wounded in the attack, including one seriously, which sparked a massive manhunt for the perpetrators.

The United States condemned the attack, with the State Department expressing condolences to the families and highlighting that an American citizen was among those killed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday evening held a situation assessment on Judea and Samaria that was attended by Halevi as well as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) Director Ronen Bar.

“The prime minister approved the operations to apprehend the terrorists and bring them to justice, as well as a series of additional offensive and defensive actions in Judea and Samaria,” according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.

Following the attack, Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev announced the allocation of $26 million to construct a bypass road near al-Funduq.