Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held a situation assessment Sunday together with defense establishment officials following the deadly terrorist attack that took place earlier in the day.
2 Jewish Brothers Killed by Drive-By Fire on Rt. 60 near Shechem
Hillel Menachem Yaniv, and his brother, Yigal Yaakov Yaniv, two Jewish brothers from the Samaria community of Har Bracha were shot and killed at point-blank range in a terrorist shooting attack at the Huwara checkpoint on Route 60, south of Shechem. The terrorists fled and at present are still at large.
Within hours, Arab extremists in Judea and Samaria were gleefully celebrating the murders by handing out sweets to passersby.
More pictures of Palestinians handing out candy in celebration of the death of two #Israeli civilians in today's deadly shooting attack in Hawara pic.twitter.com/jKhhIQOhGT
— AbuAliEnglish (@AbuAliEnglishB1) February 26, 2023
“This celebration of deadly violence is pure indoctrination,” the StandWithUs organization pointed out.
Following the situation assessment, the defense minister instructed security forces to focus operational and intelligence efforts on apprehending the perpetrators of the attack, while taking all the measures necessary to prevent any additional attacks.
Gallant also approved the reinforcement of troops in Judea and Samaria for defensive purposes.
The situation assessment was attended by the IDF Chief of Staff, Director General of the Ministry of Defense, Deputy Director of the Shin Bet, Head of the IDF Operations Directorate, Head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate and additional senior officials.
Israel Police Chief Kobi Shabtai meanwhile said in a statement that he trusts the Shin Bet and IDF intelligence, “who will know how to reach the terrorist.”
Shabtai said police forces were placed on high alert in response to the attack.
“We are in a very sensitive situation and it requires all of us to be on operational alert,” he said. “Israel Police is entering maximum alert in order to be at the highest level of preparedness for operation.”
