Two Israelis shot and killed in the West Bank, says Yossi Dagan

• Two Israelis were shot and murdered in the West Bank on Sunday.
• By a terrorist who had earlier arrived at the Einbus crossroads.
• Hamas condemned the PA’s participation and urged it to end security coordination.

Two Israelis were shot and murdered in the West Bank on Sunday. He called it “an incredibly terrible terrorist attack,” according to Yossi Dagan.

An Israeli car was fired upon by a terrorist who had earlier arrived at the Einbus crossroads, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

The IDF reported that two Israelis were hurt and brought to a hospital, and that it was looking for the attacker.

Dagan, the head of the settlers, and the Magen David Adom medical organisation later reported their demise.

Another local settler leader claimed to have witnessed the shooting of the two.

“The shooting took place right behind me. It looked terrible – the shooting was from point blank range,” said Shai Alon, the head of Beit El council, adding that Israel needed to “go to war against those who wish us harm.”

Days after a significant Israeli military operation into Nablus in search of wanted militants resulted in the deaths of at least 11 Palestinians, the event occurred near Huwara, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

Six of the dead from Wednesday were identified as members of Lion’s Den, a Palestinian terrorist group that formed in Nablus last year and pledged retribution.

“As big as the pain filling Nablus, the occupation will taste twice the pain,” the group said, referring to Israel. “They will know that the fighters of the honorable groups in Nablus will not take a step back.”

Dagan, the head of the Samaria Regional Council, called after Sunday’s killings for Israel to break off ongoing security talks between Israel and the Palestinians brokered by Jordan, Egypt and the United States, saying: “I demand that the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense and all the ministers return the delegation from the idle talks in Aqaba…. We need to launch an operation against terrorism!”

In the wake of one of the most violent beginnings to a year in two decades, Israel and the Palestinian Authority acknowledged earlier on Sunday that they were in five-party negotiations in Jordan.

Besides with the Jordanian hosts, other participants include Egypt and the United States.

Participants “will explore methods to alleviate security concerns in the region ahead of the month of Ramadan,” which begins in March, according to an Israeli official.

The director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ronan Levy, the Shin Bet chief, Major General Rasan Elian, the coordinator of government operations in the territories, Tzachi Hanegbi, the national security adviser, and Ronan Bar are all members of the Israeli delegation, the source said while requesting anonymity to discuss ongoing diplomatic talks.

The high-level Palestinian delegation “will stress the need to stop all Israeli unilateral actions and abide by the signed agreements,” the official Palestinian news agency reported Sunday.

Hamas, the Palestinian militant movement that governs Gaza, condemned the Palestinian Authority’s participation, calling it a “fruitless move.”

A Hamas statement urged the PA “irrevocably end security coordination” with Israel, which the Palestinian Authority officially broke off in January after and Israeli raid into Jenin that left 11 Palestinians dead.

The independent political parties Lion’s Den and the Palestinian National Initiative also requested the PA to abstain from the event.

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