Within 48 hours of the brutal slaying of 18-year-old Dvir Sorek, Israeli security forces swooped in on his killers in the dead of night, while they were asleep. Sorek’s lifeless body was found last Thursday in the early morning hours near the community of Migdal Oz, located in the Judea District just south of Jerusalem. He had just returned from Jerusalem where he purchased gifts for his teachers at the Migdal Oz religious seminary. But Sorek, a talented musician who would have turned 19 in a week, never made it. He was ambushed by two Palestinian Authority Arabs and stabbed repeatedly. Sorek’s grandfather, Rabbi Binyamin Herling, a Holocaust survivor, met a similar grisly fate when he was murdered in a terrorist attack perpetrated by PA Arabs nearly two decades prior.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad praised the attack though they were careful not to claim responsibility. Hamas is the terrorist entity that governs the Gaza Strip and is considered the PA’s main internal political rival. Islamic Jihad is also based in Gaza and maintains the same ideologically extremist positions as its larger Hamas cousin. Both groups are heavily influenced and financed by Iran.
Security forces of various branches instantly began a manhunt for Sorek’s assailants. Army trackers were brought in to determine the attackers’ escape route. CCTV footage collected from roadside cameras was thoroughly examined for further clues. By Friday evening, the identity of the attackers was known. Israel Defense Force units, aided by Shin Bet agents (Israel’s FBI equivalent) and elements of the border patrol zeroed in on the Arab settlement of Beit Kahil, located southwest of Migdal Oz.
On Saturday at 3 a.m., IDF troops nabbed Nasir and Qasseem Asafra, ages 24 and 30 respectively, in their home. The duo were cousins and were shocked by the breathtaking speed it took to crack the case. Nasir was a member of Hamas. Nasir’s brother Akrama and Qassem’s wife, Ines, were also arrested on suspicion of aiding the terrorists after the attack. The vehicle used by the terrorists was hauled off for further forensic examination. Precise measurements of Asafra house have already been taken in anticipation of its demolition.
At about the same time that the Asfara cousins were apprehended, A group of four heavily armed Hamas terrorists tried to infiltrate into southern Israel from Gaza. Alert soldiers from the Golani Brigade’s 12th battalion immediately engaged the terrorists and liquidated them. There were no IDF casualties. The terrorists’ bodies are currently being held by Israel.
After the battle, the soldiers recovered AK-47 assault rifles, rocket propelled grenades, hand grenades, pipe bombs, wire cutters, energy bars, dried dates and a first aid kit. Judging by the quantity of weapons recovered, it is clear that the infiltrators were looking to perpetrate a mega attack. IDF soldiers killed another armed infiltrator the following day for a total of six terrorists killed in the last two weeks while trying to breach the border.
The murder of Dvir Sorek in Judea and the attempted armed infiltrations in the south are products of a malevolent anti-Semitic ideology that champions the murder of Jews. Sorek’s murder was a direct result of continuous PA incitement. Indeed, following the murder, PA West Bank leaders took to social media to advise Arab shop owners to destroy any CCTV footage in their possession to hinder the investigation. And while mourners were attending Sorek’s funeral at the regional cemetery in Ofra, PA residents of a nearby Arab settlement were launching fireworks to celebrate the slaying.
The Palestinian Authority attempts to present itself to the West as a responsible and moderate political entity, but it is in reality no different than Hamas. Differences, to the extent that any exist, have more to do with style than substance. Hamas and its smaller affiliate Islamic Jihad openly call for the destruction of Israel whereas the PA approach is more tactful and nuanced, at least when addressing Western audiences. It’s an entirely different affair however, when PA leaders speak in Arabic to Arabic audiences. In those circumstances, they do little to hide their anti-Semitic attitudes and hate-filled agenda.
PA leaders routinely refer to Jews as the descendants of monkeys and pigs, habitually regurgitate ancient anti-Semitic blood libels and regularly engage in Holocaust denial. Chief among the offenders is PA president Mahmoud Abbas who wrote a thesis centered on Holocaust denial and whose official term of office expired ten years ago. Abbas is now in celebrating his 14th anniversary as PA president of what was to have been a four-year term of office.
Years of venomous Palestinian rhetoric and rejectionist attitudes coupled with systemic Palestinian corruption have rendered the Palestinians politically irrelevant. In the meantime, Israel is under no illusions when it comes to its dealings with its malign neighbors and their genocidal goals.