President Reuven Rivlin
President Reuven RivlinMiriam Alster/Flash 90

President Reuven Rivlin responded on Saturday night to the stabbing attack in Jerusalem's Old City in which two people were murdered.

In a statement, Rivlin offered condolences to the families of the victims and called for government cooperation to return security to Israel.

“We are facing a difficult, daily, and ongoing struggle," RIvlin noted. "We have always known that the struggle against terrorism demands determination and inner fortitude, and we will reach the murderers of the innocent, and those who send them to kill."

"I pray for the recovery of the injured and my deepest sympathies go to the families of the bereaved."

Rabbi Nehemia Lavi, 41, and Aharon Banita Bennett, 21, were named as the victims of Saturday’s terrorist attack.

Bennett, along with his wife and two-year-old son, were attacked by the terrorist; his wife, Adelle Banita, 22, was seriously wounded but has since stabilized in the hospital. The child was lightly wounded.

Rivlin also offered support to the "security forces operating now across Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the whole country, in their uncompromising work against the murderers and their dispatchers."

"We must all work together to restore the sense of security to our citizens across the country,” the President stressed. 

Rivlin's response came before a second stabbing attack took place in Jerusalem early Sunday morning, in which a young Jewish man was stabbed at a gas station near the Damascus Gate.

The man, who was stabbed in his upper body, was treated at the scene by United Hatzalah paramedics, and is listed in moderate-to-serious condition. The terrorist was reportedly shot by security forces.