Four Israeli civilians were murdered in their vehicle in a terrorist drive-by shooting attack on Route 60 near Qiryat Arba, east of Hebron, earlier this evening, August 31st, 2010. Two men and two women, one of whom was pregnant, from the nearby community of Bet Hagay, were the victims of this deadly attack. Their names are Yizhak and Talia Aimes, Avishai Shindler and Kochba Even-Chaim.
The families have been informed of the incident. The IDF mourns the loss of the families.
Security forces in the area have constructed road blocks and are currently searching the area for the terrorists responsible. It appears that the attack was carried out by a passing vehicle, however the investigation is still underway.
The Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, GOC of the Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrahi, and the Commander of the Judea and Samaria Regional Brigade, Brig. Gen. Nitzan Alon, arrived on the scene and conducted operational and intelligence situation assessments.
Lt. Gen. Ashkenazi added that, “there is no doubt that this was a very difficult event. Firstly, we all express our condolences to the families and the community of Bet Hagay. We are operating on a number of different levels since the event took place and will continue to act until we get a hold of the terrorists. The IDF, together with the rest of the different security apparatuses, is operating and will continue to do so until we catch the murderers responsible for this event.”
Only two months ago, on June 14th, 2010, an Israeli police officer was murdered by Palestinian gunmen in a similar attack near Al Fawwar, south of Hebron, on the same Route 60.
On February 2nd, 2010, an IDF Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO), Sergeant 1st Class Ihab Hattib was killed by a Palestinian terrorist while his vehicle was stopped at a traffic light in the Tapuah junction, south of Nablus.
