PM Netanyahu at scene of Gush Etzion terrorist attack. Photo Courtesy of Amos Ben-Gershom (Israeli GPO)
As Israel continues to mourn the murder of 18-year-old Dvir Sorek, they are also making it very clear that the terrorists behind the deadly stabbing will face justice—including their leaders. “I have no doubt, also on the basis of what I have heard, that we will also apprehend those who carried out this awful murder,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. “We will settle accounts with them and with those who dispatched them.”
Netanyahu, speaking from the scene of the crime in comments published by his office, said he had been given security briefings and said “progress” was being made in the pursuit of the killers. He noted that the security forces in recent years “have found all the murderers.”
Said Netanyahu, “Our answer to these murderers is two-fold: First of all, they come to destroy and we build. Secondly, our arm will reach them and we will settle accounts with them. The investigation is making progress and it is ongoing.”
The murder of Sorek was another blow to the Sorek family. Dvir’s grandfather, Rabbi Binyamin Herling was previously murdered in a terrorist shooting in 2000. The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs website said Herling, 64-years-old at the time, was in a group of men, women and children who were fired upon by Palestinian militants.
On Thursday, Netanyahu acknowledged this double pain. “I said this morning that the Land of Israel is acquired through tribulations,” said the Israeli leader. “Today we lost Dvir, a dear son of the Sorek family, which also lost the grandfather, Rabbi Binyamin Herling some years ago. Our heart is with them. We embrace them in this difficult hour.”
In contrast to Netanyahu’s condolences, Hamas praised the murder as “a most powerful response” to the discussion of Israel officially claiming sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, according to a report in The Jerusalem Post. United States Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt responded to the article on Twitter, saying, “More murder & boasting by Hamas—reprehensible actions by an org that chooses death & destruction over taking care of the people they claim to lead.”
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon also blamed the supposedly moderate Palestinian Authority (PA) for providing an environment that encouraged the murder.
“Incentivized by the PA’s ‘pay for slay’ policy, these terrorists seek to destroy where we try to build. Israel will not rest until we find the terrorists and bring them to justice,” Danon posted to Twitter, referencing the PA’s provision of funds to terrorists and their families.
The murder of Dvir Sorek comes during a traditional season of mourning for the Jewish people—the weeks leading up to Tisha B’Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar that will be marked on Sunday. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin dedicated the annual Tisha B’Av learning event to Sorek.
“Our prayers today are with the Sorek family who are grieving the murder of their son Corporal Dvir Yehuda, killed by a wicked murderer in Gush Etzion. Our hearts, too, grieve for the life cut short,” said Rivlin in comments published by Israel.
“Our security forces are pursuing the murderers and will not rest until we find them. We fight terrorism without compromise to ensure the security of our people.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, August 8, 2019)