Army reports ‘significant progress’ in hunt for Henkin killers

Israeli forces have made “significant progress” in a manhunt for perpetrators behind a West Bank terror attack that left two Israeli parents dead Thursday, the army said Saturday night.

The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security service said they carried out a joint operation in and around Nablus late Friday and early Saturday, arresting suspects in the killing of Eitam and Naama Henkin, who were gunned down while traveling with their four children Thursday night.

The children were uninjured in the attack.

A separate Shin Bet statement also noted arrests but neither gave a specific number, and a gag order has been placed on reporting some parts of the investigation.

Earlier in the day, Palestinians reported that eight people were arrested in the overnight Nablus operation, amid clashes between Israeli troops and locals.

“The forces made significant progress in the investigation and operated in order to gather intelligence, identify and detain viable suspects,” the army said in a statement.

Video of the arrest operation released by the IDF Saturday night shows at least one person being detained. Gun shots are also heard in the background.

Several people were wounded during the raids when local residents clashed with IDF soldiers, according to a report by the Palestinian Ma’an news agency.

One man was in serious condition after he was shot in the chest by live fire, the agency reported. At least four other people were hospitalized for their injuries while many others suffered from the effects of tear gas.

Palestinians protesting against the raid in Nablus hurled stones at soldiers, who responded with rubber bullets, tear gas and live ammunition, the Palestinian sources said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said 14 Palestinians were wounded in the fighting.

Israeli officials have vowed to quickly find and bring to justice the killers of the Henkins, who were both in their 30s.

The attack was claimed Friday by a terror group linked to Fatah, but Ma’an said most of the detainees belonged to Hamas.

“This murder’s barbaric nature is incomprehensible. The IDF is determined to find those responsible for this horrendous attack and bring them to justice,” IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said in the Saturday Night statement.

The Thursday night attack came amid a period of low-level unrest in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as Israeli officials noted an uptick in rock-throwing and Molotov cocktail attacks.

The IDF said it had boosted troops presence in the West Bank with four extra battalions following the attack, which took place on a road between the settlements of Itamar and Elon Moreh in the northern West Bank, ” in order to prevent an escalation of violence.”

On Saturday night, two Israelis were killed and three others injured in Jerusalem after a terrorist stabbed and opened fire on a group walking near the capital’s Old City, leading to fears of a renewed wave of terror.

The terrorist in that attack was shot dead by responding Border Police officers.

Times of Israel staff and AFP contributed to this report.