Following Hebron terror attack, right-wing coalition members and local officials point finger at security forces

Opposition leader Lapid condemns attack, backs security forces

Right-wing members of the coalition and local officials in the West Bank blame Israeli security for the deadly terror attack near Hebron on Monday in which a 42-year-old woman was murdered and a man seriously injured.

Minister of Settlements and National Missions Orit Struck of the Religious Zionism party wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the terror attack “was only possible because of the absence of the required decision that the roads of Judea and Samaria will not be a green route for terrorism anymore!”

Turning to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, she added, “Defense Minister, the decision is in your hands, take it before the next attack.”

Hebron Hills Regional Council head Yochai Damari blamed the attack on the Israel Defense Forces, saying it was due to the “failure of who is responsible to defend Israeli citizens everywhere – the army.”

“We need to investigate, change the situation and do things differently,” Damari argued.

During an interview with Army Radio on Monday, Knesset Member Zvi Sukkot of Religious Zionism called for a wide-reaching change in policy against Palestinian terror.

“The government changed the equation in Gaza and also in Samaria, but this wasn’t enough. This is no success, [we need] a change in policy in different areas – we prefer terrorist in the grave, not in prison.”

Likud party Knesset Member Dan Illouz joined the calls to restore deterrence, writing: “We mustn't let the terror raise its head,” before quoting from Psalms 18:37: “I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.”(NIV)

Meanwhile, opposition leader Yair Lapid expressed his support for the security forces in a statement following the attack.

“The security forces will not let go of the killers, they will chase and chase until they catch them. In the face of terrorism, a hard and determined hand is required," Lapid said.

The terror attack on Monday took place amid an ongoing crisis in relations between parts of the government coalition and the security establishment, which is backed by the Lapid and Gallant.

The crisis is rooted in the government's criticism of Israel's top military leadership for not acting decisively when reserve soldiers threatened to stop volunteering for their IDF service to protest judicial reform plans.

On Saturday, two Israeli citizens were shot and murdered by a terrorist at a car wash in the Palestinian town of Huwara.