Israeli military vows no rest until killers of settlers apprehended

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi both vowed on Wednesday to track down the killers of four Israeli civilians near Hebron Tuesday evening.

"The IDF will do everything possible to quickly bring the perpetrators to justice, to prevent the possibility of a wave of terror attacks from developing," Barak was quoted by The Jerusalem Post newspaper as saying at a meeting with senior officials at the IDF Central Command headquarters in northern Jerusalem.

Ashkenazi said the military has been "operating on a number of different levels since the event took place and won't rest until we get a hold of the terrorists."

Islamic Hamas movement's military wing Iz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades has claimed responsibility for the drive-by shooting ambush, which took place near the entrance to the Israeli town of Kiryat Arba, near Hebron.

Palestinian officials said they had rounded up close to 300 individuals they said were Hamas supporters since the attack, but it is unclear if any of them will be charged in connection to the shooting.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said his government would not allow similar attack to take place. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking from Washington, said the shooting, "did not serve Palestinian interests."


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