On Monday, IDF Chief of General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, arrived at the location of the shooting incident near Al-Funduq. He conducted an on-site evaluation and gathered initial information from the Commanding Officer of Central Command, the Officer in charge of the Judea and Samaria Division, and other senior commanders.
“This is a severe attack – two [female] civilians and a police officer were killed,” Halevi expressed. “I extend my deepest condolences to the families.”
“We are engaged in intense and wide-ranging combat against terrorism in Judea and Samaria. 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.”
In connection with the attack, the following victims were identified: Sergeant Elad Yaakov Winklestein, a 35-year-old police detective from Kibbutz Ein Hanatziv, who leaves behind his wife Tal, sons Neve and Omer, parents Naomi and Yossi, and siblings Yonatan, Hadas, and Harel. Additionally, Rachel Cohen (73) and Aliza Rize (70), both from Kedumim, were close friends. Cohen, a school counselor, is survived by her husband and five daughters, while Rize, also a school counselor, is survived by her children and extended family.
Preliminary investigations indicate that two or three terrorists emerged from a vehicle and began shooting at two Israeli cars and a bus. The entire attack took place on Highway 55, situated between Karnei Shomron and Kedumim in Samaria. After the shooting, the terrorists fled the scene in a vehicle, but not before a civilian, Ami Berber, fired at them. Although Berber did not hit the attackers, he was able to drive them away.
{Matzav.com}