Israeli security forces are closing in on the terrorist cell which murdered a teenage yeshiva student this week, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Friday.
In a video statement released via Facebook, Netanyahu said that he had been updated Friday afternoon regarding the searches for the terrorist gang that stabbed Dvir Sorek to death Wednesday night in the Gush Etzion area south of Jerusalem.
“We’re going to catch these murderers,” said Netanyahu. “According to a report I just received within the last hour, we’re closing in on them. It won’t take very long.”
Sorek, who was killed just days before his 19th birthday, was a resident of Ofra, north of Jerusalem, and had been studying in the Ohr Torah Mahanayim hesder yeshiva. His remains were found near Kibbutz Migdal Oz in Gush Etzion, where the yeshiva is located.
Terrorists stabbed Sorek to death sometime after 8:00 p.m. Wednesday night, and his body was located before dawn Thursday morning.
Palestinian Authority media outlets have reported that several days prior to the murder, a known Hamas terrorist in the Hevron area was reported missing, possibly indicating he may have been involved in the planning and execution of the attack.
Israeli security forces launched an area-wide manhunt for the terrorists, beginning in the surrounding Arab villages, including Beit Fajar, and expanding Thursday night to the Hevron district, including the Palestinian Authority-controlled town of Halhoul.