The Israeli government Sunday, March 13 raised the alert level for fear of police reprisals after the killing of five Israelis in a West Bank settlement. It also gave the green light to build hundreds of homes in Gaza. The funeral of the family Fogel, parents and three children including a baby, stabbed to death in their beds Friday night in the settlement of Itamar (northern West Bank), took place earlier this afternoon in Jerusalem in the presence of thousands of people in a country in shock.
On the ground, soldiers and Israeli security services continued their manhunt in the Nablus area. No credible claim of the attack was announced. "As defense minister, I am certain that the iron hand of the army and the Shin Bet will quickly capture the murderers. They will be caught and will be held accountable," he assured Ehud Barak.
Israeli police raised their alert level for fear of revenge attacks anti-Palestinian by Jewish extremists. Angry settlers came in the night from Saturday to Sunday in the Palestinian village of Burin, a hotbed of tension near Nablus, threw stones and torching a house, residents said. Incidents were reported in and around the Palestinian city of Hebron.
The Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu urged the Israelis to exercise "restraint". "I call on all Israelis to act responsibly, with restraint and not take the law themselves. When someone gets justice, there is more justice. Only the army and security forces to assume this responsibility, "Mr.
Netanyahu declared. The situation had greatly strained in recent weeks between Palestinian farmers and Jewish settlers extremists around Nablus, an agricultural area where live in a permanent climate of violence, Palestinian farmers and Jewish settlers, some known for their extremism. The Quartet of Middle East (USA, EU, Russia and UN) condemned "in strongest possible terms" the killing of Itamar in calling "unacceptable" attacks against civilians.
He welcomed the "strong condemnation of the attack" by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. On the political front, the Israeli government has responded to the attack by giving the green light to the construction of "hundreds of homes" in West Bank settlements. "The ministerial committee on settlements decided yesterday (Saturday) the construction of hundreds of housing units in Gush Etzion, Maale Adumim, Ariel and Kiryat Sefer," said Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
These four settlements are among the most densely populated West Bank and part of what Israeli officials call "settlement blocs" that are, in their view, be attached in any peace agreement with the Palestinians. The head of Yesha, the main settler organization, Danny Dayan, welcomed "this small step in the right direction," Benjamin Netanyahu calling to approve further building permits in the occupied West Bank.
In contrast, the Palestinian Authority "firmly condemned" the Israeli government's decision and warned it would lead to "serious problems". 
On the ground, soldiers and Israeli security services continued their manhunt in the Nablus area. No credible claim of the attack was announced. "As defense minister, I am certain that the iron hand of the army and the Shin Bet will quickly capture the murderers. They will be caught and will be held accountable," he assured Ehud Barak.
Israeli police raised their alert level for fear of revenge attacks anti-Palestinian by Jewish extremists. Angry settlers came in the night from Saturday to Sunday in the Palestinian village of Burin, a hotbed of tension near Nablus, threw stones and torching a house, residents said. Incidents were reported in and around the Palestinian city of Hebron.
The Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu urged the Israelis to exercise "restraint". "I call on all Israelis to act responsibly, with restraint and not take the law themselves. When someone gets justice, there is more justice. Only the army and security forces to assume this responsibility, "Mr.
Netanyahu declared. The situation had greatly strained in recent weeks between Palestinian farmers and Jewish settlers extremists around Nablus, an agricultural area where live in a permanent climate of violence, Palestinian farmers and Jewish settlers, some known for their extremism. The Quartet of Middle East (USA, EU, Russia and UN) condemned "in strongest possible terms" the killing of Itamar in calling "unacceptable" attacks against civilians.
He welcomed the "strong condemnation of the attack" by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. On the political front, the Israeli government has responded to the attack by giving the green light to the construction of "hundreds of homes" in West Bank settlements. "The ministerial committee on settlements decided yesterday (Saturday) the construction of hundreds of housing units in Gush Etzion, Maale Adumim, Ariel and Kiryat Sefer," said Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
These four settlements are among the most densely populated West Bank and part of what Israeli officials call "settlement blocs" that are, in their view, be attached in any peace agreement with the Palestinians. The head of Yesha, the main settler organization, Danny Dayan, welcomed "this small step in the right direction," Benjamin Netanyahu calling to approve further building permits in the occupied West Bank.
In contrast, the Palestinian Authority "firmly condemned" the Israeli government's decision and warned it would lead to "serious problems".
- Massacre in Itamar: The Only Response (14/03/2011)
- Remembering the innocent victims of Itamar (12/03/2011)
- Harriet Sherwood's reprehensible moral equivalence in reporting the murders in Itamar (12/03/2011)
- IDF increases West Bank presence following Itamar terror attack - Ha'aretz (14/03/2011)
- The Murders in Itamar Settlement, and the Cynical Government Response (14/03/2011)
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