Aviad Nir, 28, and his father Shai Silas Nigreker, 60, have been named as the father and son murdered Saturday afternoon in a shooting attack in Huwara.
The pair are both residents of Ashdod.
"In their lives and in their deaths, they were not separated," Ashdod Mayor Dr. Yehiel Lasry said. "All of Ashdod is mourning this evening, after the Shabbat murder of a father and son, residents of the city, in a horrible shooting attack which stole their lives in such a cruel and criminal fashion.
Initial investigations show that the terrorist arrived on foot to a location on the road where security was not reinforced during Shabbat. The terrorist then entered a car wash, where the pair's vehicle was parked after the two ran errands in Huwara earlier in the day. The terrorist identified the pair as Israelis after they spoke in Hebrew, and fired five bullets at them from point-blank range. He then escaped on foot. Later, his weapon was discovered.
This is the tenth terror attack in Huwara since the beginning of this year. Six of the terror attacks were shooting attacks, two were ramming attacks, and two were stabbing attacks. Four Israelis have been murdered in Huwara in the past eight months, and eight others were injured - two severely, three moderately, and three lightly.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "I send condolences to the family of the two murdered victims, a father and son, whose lives were cut short in such a cruel and criminal fashion over Shabbat. Security forces are working with great vigor in order to capture the murderer and bring him to justice, exactly as we have done with all of the murderers until now."
Israeli President Isaac Herzog responded, "This was a sad Shabbat, which ended with great pain, after two people, a father and son, were murdered in a serious terror attack in Huwara. I am sure that the IDF and security forces will lay hands on the despicable murderer. We must not let terror defeat us."
Gush Etzion Regional Council head and Yesha Council chairman Shlomo Ne'eman responded, "Another shocking murder, again in the murderous village of Huwara. A father and son were murdered just because they were Jews."
"The authorities in our country can’t just absorb attacks and hope that the wave of terrorism will simply pass. We once again demand that the government make security in Judea and Samaria a top priority and restore deterrence to the region. Our country is at war and we demand that we behave as if we are in a war - only a strong response against the murderers from the Palestinian Authority and their supporters will restore peace in the region. We share in the grief of the Nigreker and Nir families for the death of their loved ones and send our condolences to them and all their relatives."