PM Netanyahu with Israeli soldiers. Illustrative. Photo courtesy of Kobi Gideon (Israeli GPO).
In the wake of a Palestinian terror spree that murdered a19-year-old Israeli soldier and a rabbi father of 12, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear on Monday that the violence would not defeat the Jewish people.” These terrorists will not uproot us from here; the complete opposite will happen. Our response is simple—‘the more they afflict them, the more they multiplied and spread,’” said Netanyahu in comments released by his office, quoting from Exodus 1:12 in the Bible. The comments were timely, as next month is the holiday of Passover, which marks the exodus from Egypt.
The Israeli leader also said that he had given the orders to demolish the home of the terrorist who launched the attack that killed IDF Sgt. Gal Keidan and Rabbi Achiad Ettinger and that “preparations” for that response had begun. He noted that having identified the terrorist, Israeli security forces were in “close pursuit” as of Monday.
“We know that we are in a constant struggle and this requires—of course—the deployment in the field that you see here, but in the end we will defeat the murderers,” said Netanyahu. ‘We will apprehend them. The arms of the security services reach all of these murderers. I want you to look at all of the incidents.”
The Israeli premier also expressed his condolences to the families of the Israelis killed by the attack. “I have heard that they were splendid people,” he said. “Our hearts are with them; the heart of the entire people is with the families.”
Rabbi Ettinger passed away from his wounds in the terror attack—which began with a stabbing and turned into a shooting at multiple sites—after initially being hospitalized with critical wounds. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin actually was able to visit his family at the hospital, who were praying for the rabbi’s recovery.
“I embraced them on behalf of all Israelis and was overwhelmed by their strength,” said Rivlin in an Israeli press release. “Rabbi Ettinger’s life’s work will continue and be amongst us even after his passing, and the strength he gave his pupils and the community he led will continue to strengthen us through the enormous grief and sorrow.”
Thankfully not all of the victims wounded in the attack have succumbed. Netanyahu expressed his wish for a “quick recovery” to the third Israeli victim wounded in the attack.
While Israel is grieving with those who lost loved ones, Netanyahu was confident in his nation’s strength. “I would like to point out one thing: They will not uproot us from here. Our strength is great,” he said on Monday. “We will apprehend them just as we have apprehended all of the recent assailants.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, March 18, 2019)