PM says West Bank killing shows Israelis face constant threat

After Palestinian gunman shoots dead Danny Gonen, 25, president notes gradual escalation of terror; Hamas hails ‘heroic’ act

Israeli leaders condemned a terrorist attack in which an Israeli was killed in the West Bank Friday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning that Israelis are under constant threat and President Reuven Rivlin noting a “quiet and serious escalation in acts of terrorism” in recent months. Hamas hailed the killing as “heroic.”

Danny Gonen, 25, was shot at close range, and a second Israeli was moderately injured, by a Palestinian gunmen who opened fire on them after they had visited a spring near Dolev in the West Bank. Gonen died later in the hospital.

Netanyahu said the killing proved that Israelis are in constant danger of terrorist attacks. “We mustn’t let the relative calm mislead us. Efforts to hurt us (Israelis) are underway at all times, and we will continue to fight them using all the means available to us,” he said.

Rivlin condemned the attack as “another step in the quiet and serious escalation in acts of terrorism we have witnessed in recent months.” He called on Palestinian and Arab-Israeli leaders to also condemn the killing.

Danny Gonen, 25, from Lod was killed Friday, June 19, 2015 in a shooting attack near the West Bank settlement of Dolev by a Palestinian gunman. (Facebook)

“We will not accept a situation in which a young hiker has his life taken from him in the land of Israel because he is Jewish. Security forces will work tirelessly to bring to justice those responsible for this cruel and brutal act. There should be heard clear and decisive condemnation of such criminal acts from both the Arab leadership, which bears responsibility for actions of terrorism emanating from its territory, as well as from the leaders of the Arab community in Israel,” Rivlin wrote on Facebook.

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, issued a statement condemning the attack and calling for calm.

“I condemn today’s deadly shooting attack on an Israeli civilian vehicle traveling in the occupied West Bank. On this second day of Ramadan and at the start of the Shabbat, I call on all sides to exercise the utmost restraint, to maintain calm and promptly bring the perpetrators to justice,” Mladenov said.

A Hamas spokesman in Qatar praised the “heroic act,” according to Israel Radio.

AFP and AP contributed to this report.