Two Palestinian terrorists opened fire at close range on two cars and a bus on Highway 55 in the northern West Bank near the Palestinian village of al-Funduq, killing three people: Rachel Cohen, 73, Aliza Reiss, 70, and Israel Police St.-Sgt.-Maj. Elad Yaakov Winkelstein, 35.
By press time, security forces were still searching for the attackers, who escaped by car from the scene, are from Jenin, and are affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Over the past few weeks, the PA has operated in the city to attempt to root out any terrorist activity, leading to a rise in tensions in the area.
Winkelstein was in a car with his young son. The police officer managed to shoot two bullets towards the terrorists until he was killed. He lived in Ein Hanatziv with his wife, two daughters, and son. He had previously lived in Kedumim, serving as the town’s security coordinator.
Cohen, 73, was a school counselor and a mother of five daughters. Reiss, 70, was also a school counselor and is survived by her children and family. Cohen and Reiss were in the same car when they were shot.
Emergency medical personnel said they treated the 63-year-old bus driver who sustained serious wounds, a woman in her 60s in moderate condition, and six other people with various light wounds. They were transferred to the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva and the Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba for further treatment.
Manhunt for terrorists ensues
The IDF said terrorists opened fire at a bus and vehicles in the area and that roadblocks were set up surrounding the nearby Palestinian towns. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later approved additional offensive and defensive measures in the area.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi arrived at the scene of the attack on Monday evening, extending his condolences.
“We are engaged in an intense and wide-ranging battle against terrorism in the West Bank. We will intensify and continue this combat,” he said. “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.”
Netanyahu sent his condolences to the families as well, adding, “We will reach the despicable murderers and settle accounts with them and with anyone who assisted them. No one will go unpunished.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote in a post on X/Twitter that he had instructed the IDF to “act forcefully in every location” that could lead to the terrorists. He further stated that Israel would “not tolerate a Gaza-like reality in the West Bank.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in nearby Kedumim, said, “The conceptzia (Hebrew term for a strategic concept from which policy is derived) is still here, and it is costing us in blood. The terror in the West Bank is the same as the terror from Iran and Gaza, and it must be defeated.”
He added, “Those who trust the PA to ensure the safety of Israeli citizens wake up every day to the slaughter of Israeli residents.”