Zamir described the incident as a “severe terror attack” and ordered an increase in troop deployments across Central Command.
By The IDF Club
Israeli security forces have completed the sealing of the home of the terrorist who carried out last weekend’s deadly ramming and stabbing attack in northern Israel, as counterterrorism operations continue in the Qabatiya area, the IDF said.
The attack on Friday unfolded across multiple locations in northern Israel. It began in Beit She’an, where 68-year-old Shimshon Mordechai was killed after being struck by a vehicle in what police identified as a terrorist attack. The assailant then fled south and reached Route 71 near Kibbutz Ein Harod, where he rammed a vehicle into pedestrians, exited the car, and stabbed Aviv Maor, 19, to death. A 16-year-old boy was also lightly wounded in a separate ramming incident.
Police said the attacker, a 37-year-old Palestinian man from Qabatiya near Jenin, fled in his employer’s vehicle and was later shot and killed by security forces near the entrance to Afula.
In the wake of the attack, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir held a situational assessment on Saturday at the Menashe Brigade, alongside Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, Judea and Samaria Division commander Brig. Gen. Kobi Heller, Civil Administration head Brig. Gen. Hisham Ibrahim, the Menashe Brigade commander, and other senior security officials.
Zamir described the incident as a “severe terror attack” and ordered an increase in troop deployments across Central Command, alongside continued offensive counterterrorism activity. He instructed forces to intensify encirclement operations, curfews, and the manhunt for terrorist operatives in the Qabatiya area.
The chief of staff also directed the completion of the sealing of the terrorist’s home and ordered preparations to advance toward its demolition. In addition, he instructed security forces to improve intelligence-gathering capabilities in the area, both to enhance monitoring and to enable faster operational responses.
Zamir emphasized the need for tighter coordination among all security bodies and for a comprehensive approach to countering terrorism, including stronger enforcement against illegal entrants, as well as those who transport or employ them.
“We are following a severe terror attack in which two civilians were murdered,” Zamir said. “The IDF shares in the families’ grief and stands by them in this difficult hour. This attack sharpens the IDF’s responsibility to learn, draw lessons, and strengthen the defense of Israel’s civilians in Judea and Samaria and across all fronts.”
He added that the current period is characterized by lone attackers and illegal residents, stressing that efforts to locate and thwart such threats must be intensified. “Even at this moment, IDF forces are operating with determination to thwart terror,” Zamir said. “Our ultimate goal is clear: to block and prevent attacks before they are carried out.”
