Hamas terrorists in Gaza
Hamas terrorists in GazaAbed Rahim Khatib/Flash 90

Both the Fatah and the Hamas organizations on Thursday night praised the terrorists who carried out the attack in Samaria, in which Rabbi Eitam and Naama Henkin were murdered in front of their four children.

According to Kol Yisrael radio, a Hamas spokesman said the group "welcomes the heroic attack and calls for more quality attacks. The Zionists will pay the price for Netanyahu’s criminal policy everywhere.”

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement, often touted as a “peace partner” for Israel, welcomed the terror attack as well.

Azzam al-Ahmed, a senior member of the group’s leadership, was quoted by Kol Yisrael as having told Hamas’s Al-Quds TV: “The attack is a natural response to the crimes of the settlers and every action has a reaction.”

The Henkins were murdered when terrorists opened fire at their car as they travelled between Elon Moreh and Itamar. Security officials later said that it is unknown as of yet which terror organization was behind the attack, though they did say the terrorists verified that the two victims were dead before fleeing the scene.

Hamas’s welcoming of the attack comes days after Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that the Palestinian Arab world absolutely wants a new intifada to fight the "crimes of the occupation."

Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) called on the PA to encourage even more violence against Jews and Israelis following the remarks, to halt security coordination with Israel and to unleash an armed struggle against the Jewish state.