Following a week of terror attacks in which two Israelis were killed in the Hebron hills, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a set of new security measures to be taken by security forces in the region.
“We are employing various means, including resolute measures that we have not used in the past,” he said.
Among the measures Netanyahu listed are a closure on the entire Hebron district and the denial and revocation of work permits for residents of the nearby Palestinian village of Bani Na’im. Terrorists’ relatives will also be investigated and, if necessary, arrested, according to their level of involvement in any attack.
Netanyahu also said that reinforcements would be provided for troops in the area, including two more brigades that would operate along travel routes.
The plan also focuses on strengthening existing communities in Judea and Samaria.
“We will bring up a special plan for Kiryat Arba at the next cabinet meeting, and my instructions to ministers are to prepare their ministries to assist the communities in Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu said.
Both victims of the recent terror attacks were residents of Judea. On Thursday morning, a 17-year-old Palestinian broke into the home of 13-year-old Hallel Yaffa Ariel of Kiryat Arba and stabbed her to death as she slept. That afternoon, another Palestinian man stabbed two Israelis at a market in the coastal city of Netanya.
On Friday afternoon, Rabbi Michael (Miki) Mark, 48, head of the yeshiva in Otniel and a resident of that community, was shot and killed as he drove along Highway 60 with his wife and two of their ten children. His wife sustained critical injuries in the attack, during which their car overturned, and the children, both in their teens, were wounded as well.