Residents of the Gaza city of Rafah on Saturday poured out on the streets to celebrate the terror attack in Itamar, where five family members were murdered in their homes on Sabbath eve. Their joy, one resident said, "is a natural response to the harm settlers inflict on the Palestinian residents in the West Bank."
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, however, said he "clearly and firmly denounces the terror attack, just as I have denounced crimes against Palestinians. Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas has not made a statement on the murders.
IDF and security forces have scoured the area of the massacre since late Friday night, arresting 20 Palestinians from the villages of Awarta, Zababdeh, Sanur and Siliya. The IAF employed unmanned aerial vehicles in an effort to search for the suspects.
Hamas accused the Palestinian Authority's security apparatus of arresting three of its activists nearby Qalqilya and Jenin. "The report of five murdered Israelis is not enough to punish someone," stated Hamas Spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri, adding, "However; we in the Hamas completely support the resistance against settlers who murder and use crime and terror against the Palestinian people under the auspices of the Israeli occupation soldiers."
Despite the comments and activities of the PA, an unverified report indicates that the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the military wing of Fatah -- the party of Abbas and Fayyad -- is taking credit for the killings. A group spokesperson told a Palestinian news agency that a cell of militants infiltrated the settlement of Itamar and committed the attack. The spokesperson stressed that the attack "came as a response to Israel's continues hostile policy toward the Palestinian people."
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Saturday expressed his deep shock at the severe terror attack in Itamar which killed five family members, saying "this is a despicable murder of an entire innocent family, parents, children and an infant, while they were sleeping in their home on the Sabbath evening," the PMO said.
The Prime Minister demanded from the Palestinian Authority, and from its leadership, that it assist in apprehending the murderers. "Israel will not stand by idly after such a despicable murder and will act vigorously to safeguard the lives of the citizens of Israel and punish the murderers." Netanyahu was briefed during the night on the murderous incident at Itamar and directed the IDF and security services to act in a wide-ranging and determined manner in order to apprehend the murderers.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak held an assessment meeting at his command center in Tel Aviv, following the attack. with Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and other military and intelligence officials attending. Barak called on the leaders of the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria to act responsibly and urged the Palestinian leadership to denounce the attack.
Ron Nachman, mayor of adjacent city Ariel, arrived in Itamar Saturday noon and expressed anger over the government and defense minister's conduct. "We need to find those behind the attack and give them the death penalty. I can't recall such a horrific terror attack," he said. Nachman refused to comment on future "price tag" operations of radical rightist, saying: "I am not responsible for violent acts from either side.
