The Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations on Wednesday claimed joint responsibility for the shooting attack near the village of Funduq on Monday, in which three Israelis were murdered.
Hamas’ military wing said in a statement that Jaafar Dababsah, a released prisoner and Hamas commander, was the mastermind behind the attack.
According to Palestinian Arab reports, Dababsah was eliminated in an IDF operation near Shechem (Nablus) this week.
Sergeant Elad Yaakov Winklestein, Rachel Cohen and Aliza Rize were murdered in Monday’s attack.
Winklestein, 35, a father of two, was an investigator at the Ariel police station. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Cohen, 73, was an educational guidance counselor and the mother of five daughters. Rize, whose surprise 70th birthday party was planned for next week, was also a guidance counselor and one of the founders of Kedumim. The two women were close friends.