Netanyahu vows to hunt Hamas terrorists as ministers demand major West Bank military operation

Without IDF soldiers stopping two Hamas terrorists on Friday morning, a major attack would likely have been made targeting civilians, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. 

"Our forces are operating with reinforcements to thwart terrorism and are carrying out extensive waves of arrests," Netanyahu also said. "We will pursue Hamas terrorists and those who sent them, wherever they are and at all times."

After the attack, Netanyahu had announced that Likud events which had been scheduled for Friday morning would be canceled. He also ordered the IDF and security forces to establish a cordon around the city of Hebron and to block off all travel through the West Bank.

President Isaac Herzog said that he had spoken to the head of the Mount Hebron Regional Council to express his support following the attack.

"I told him that - together with the entire people of Israel, I am praying for the healing and full recovery of the wounded, some of whom are in very serious condition, and I asked him to embrace their dear families on my behalf," Herzog stated.

He also praised the soldiers who had successfully killed the terrorists, saying that they had prevented a large-scale attack.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority in the wake of the terror attack.

"The severe attack that has just taken place serves as a bloody, harsh, and painful reminder of the price of the conception," he wrote. "We must not wait for an October 7 in Judea and Samaria. The next conflict will erupt there; we must act before it is too late. The Palestinian Authority must be dismantled, disarmed, and its terror infrastructure completely eradicated. The blood of our soldiers is not up for grabs."

Ben-Gvir also arrived on the scene of the attack, where he said that he did not want the road barriers and cordons to be removed in order for the locals to be able to return to their normal lives.

"As long as there's terror, they should not be able to live as normal," he insisted.

"When I said, two or three years ago, that the freedom of movement for residents of the area was less important than the right of Jews to live, more than a few people rose up against me," he added.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed that, after the attack, there would be "no escaping" a comprehensive military campaign in the West Bank.

"Under the current government, we have led a positive revolution in the settlement enterprise, one that effectively kills the dangerous idea of ​​establishing a terror state in the heart of the State of Israel," Smotrich said.

"However, this task cannot be completed without a shift in our security doctrine - decisively defeating terror and its architects through an extensive military operation."

Smotrich added that this operation would be one of the first things to be demanded in the next government.

Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, also reacted to the terror attack on X/Twitter, praying for the recovery of the victims and praising the IDF soldiers for their heroism and courage.

Yisrael Beytenu chairman MK Avigdor Liberman said that it was a difficult morning for Israel.

"How many more attacks do we need to absorb to understand that we cannot continue with the policy of containment?"

"Terror is eliminated, not contained!"

Ofer Winter, chairman of the People of Israel party, said that cordons and demolition of "a few square meters" of terrorists' houses was not enough, and that a "decisive, root-level intervention" was needed.

"If we do not shift from a reactive, containment-based approach to one of constant initiative and a comprehensive campaign to eradicate terror, it is absolutely certain that the next October 7 will originate from Judea and Samaria," he said.