Netanyahu. Phone call
Photo: Avi Ohayon, GPO
Shlomo Nativ
Netanyahu vows to fight terror 'with full force'
Prime minister calls parents of 13-year-old boy killed in Thursday's axe attack at Bat Ayin settlement, promises uncompromising war on terror. Meanwhile, security forces continue searching for terrorist
A day after the deadly terror attack
at the West Bank settlement of Bat Ayin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
is trying to deal with his first security-related test in office.
On Friday Netanyahu telephoned Revital and Haim Nativ, the bereaved parents from Gush Etzion, whose 13-year-old son Yair was murdered by a terrorist carrying an axe.
Axe Murder
Daniel Edelson
Residents of West Bank settlement gather for meeting on Thursday's deadly terror attack, several hours after 13-year-old Shlomo Nativ's funeral. 'I didn't see rage, I saw pain,' Rabbi Daniel Cohen tells Ynet
The prime minister expressed his condolences and promised the family to fight terror "with full force."
Ofer Gamliel, who is serving a 15-year jail term for his membership in the extreme Bat Ayin Underground, visited his seven-year-old son Yair, who was moderately injured in Thursday's terror attack. He arrived at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem accompanied by an Israel Prison Service official but without handcuffs.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet continue their search for the terrorist, which began immediately after the murder. Massive forces are combing the Palestinian villages adjacent to Bat Ayin.Defense establishment officials reiterated Friday that they were certain the assailant would be caught soon and that they were operating on the intelligence level as well.
On Thursday, the new prime minister held a series of security-related discussions, not only on the rise in the acts of terror in the West Bank, but also on the harsh reality in the Gaza Strip.
The meeting with heads of the defense establishment was attended by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and Shin Bet Director Yuval Diskin.
In these discussions, Netanyahu is studying the security-related reality, both in terms of the Iranian nuclear threat and the Hamas and Hizbullah terror activities.
During the discussions, the prime minister clarified that he planned to act firmly and militarily against the expanding terror threats.
Efrat Weiss contributed to this report
