The head of the IDF’s Central Command has approved the construction of an emergency bypass road to the Jewish community of Dolev in Samaria, following a deadly Palestinian terror attack on Friday.
IDF Sgt. First Class Ilay David Garfinkel, 21, was killed in the attack, and six other soldiers were wounded, including one seriously.
The attack began when Palestinian Mujahid Barakat Mansour opened fire with a sniper rifle on an Israeli minibus traveling close to Dolev, located west of Ramallah in the Binyamin region of Samaria. There were no injuries in the shooting.
During the ensuing manhunt, Israeli forces engaged Mansour in gun battles for several hours, resulting in the casualties.
The IDF deployed additional troops to the area along with aerial support, including a combat helicopter, and the terrorist was eventually killed in a missile strike.
Three suicide drones attacked his position but did not score a direct hit, with the IDF believing that he was wounded, but not enough to stop fighting.
The IDF also said that the attack helicopter that ultimately killed the terrorist in a missile strike arrived within 40 minutes of being called, a standard response time. Also, there was extensive preparation by the Duvdevan special forces unit that attempted to kill him.
The shot that killed Garfinkel was fired from 20 meters (22 yards) away.
Following the attack, Binyamin Regional Council chairman Israel Ganz held talks with IDF Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox, who green-lighted the bypass road.
“We have put forward a number of demands relating to security and directly related to the infrastructure and roads in the area, especially in Dolev,” said Gantz, according to Arutz Sheva.
“We will follow up with the IDF to see that these things are implemented on the ground. We stand by this in our contacts with the Central Command and with the government ministers who promised to help,” he added.
According to an initial investigation, the terrorist spent several hours preparing for the attack, leaving his house shortly after midnight and firing the first shot at 5:15 a.m. This suggests that he spent time building firing positions and arranging rocks on the hillside to protect himself.
The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) interviewed several of his family members, who said that he did not inform them of his intentions.
Mansour was equipped with an IED intended to be used against Israeli forces, which he did not have the opportunity to use. He also had several dozen rounds of ammunition for his sniper rifle and was wearing a high-quality tactical vest for protection.
