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The 11 March 2011 Itamar attack was an incident in which five members of a family were stabbed to death in their beds in the Israeli settlement of Itamar in the West Bank. The victims included the father, mother and three children, the youngest of whom was a three-month-old infant.

Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian Fatah, claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it a "heroic operation". The killings sparked celebrations in the Palestinian city of Rafah, where residents hit the streets and handed out candy and sweets. According to an initial Israeli probe, the attack was carried out by Palestinian terrorists who infiltrated the settlement by jumping over its security fence.

The attack was harshly condemned by the United Nations, the Quartet on the Middle East, the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague called it "an act of incomprehensible cruelty and brutality".

Incident

According to an initial probe, the terrorist who carried out the attack jumped over the fence surrounding the settlement. An electronic alarm sounded, and the guard on duty went to the spot from which the warning was heard, but found no evidence of an infiltration, deciding that an animal had activated the alarm, and did not inform an IDF unit stationed less than a kilometer away.

The perpetrator first entered an empty home, and then entered the Fogel home through the living room picture window. They did not notice the 6-year old boy sleeping on the couch. They then proceeded to the bedroom, where they slit the throats of the father and three-month old baby as they were sleeping. The mother was stabbed to death as she emerged from the bathroom, with evidence showing that she attempted to fight them off. They then entered the bedroom of the 11-year old son, and slit his throat as he was reading in bed. They then stabbed the 3-year old twice in the heart, but did not notice the 2-year old boy asleep in his bed. Exactly two hours after the infiltration, another warning signal emanated from the same spot on the fence, but it too was not identified after the infiltration.

The bodies were discovered by the 12-year-old daughter of the family who arrived home around midnight after a youth outing. After finding that the door was locked, she asked her neighbor, Rabbi Ya'akov Cohen, for help. He noticed tracks and mud near the house, and brought a weapon with him. The two then woke the sleeping 6-year old boy by calling through the window, and he opened the door, after which Cohen returned to his home. When the girl discovered the murders, she ran outside screaming, and the Rabbi ran back, firing several shots into the air to alert security personnel. Rabbi Cohen, who had entered the house with the girl, said that her two-year-old brother "was lying next to his bleeding parents, shaking them with his hands and trying to get them to wake up, while crying... The sight in the house was shocking."

Paramedics followed a trail of toys and blood to the bedroom, where they discovered the first three bodies: the mother, father and their 4-month-old infant. In the next room they found the body of the 11-year-old sibling. Finally they reached the last bedroom, where the 4-year-old boy was dying. The toddler died of his wounds despite the efforts of medical personnel.

Victims

• Udi Fogel, 36, father of the family, a rabbi and IDF tank unit officer
• Ruth Fogel, 35, mother of the family
• Yoav Fogel, 11
• Elad Fogel, 4
• Hadas Fogel, 3 months.

The family was survived by 3 additional children, who were being cared for by grandparents in the aftermath of the attack.

Israeli response

Shortly after the discovery of the murders, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Police deployed forces to the village, and began intensive searches to see if the trackers were still in Itamar. At 3:30 AM, IDF scouts discovered footprints leading to the Palestinian village of Arvata. Israeli Air Force UAVs continued aerial reconnaisance operations to locate suspects.

Israeli authorities declared the nearby West Bank city of Nablus a closed military zone, set up checkpoints and prevented vehicles and pedestrians from leaving the city, according to Palestinians. The previously-dismantled Huwwara Checkpoint was re-established.

IDF troops entered Burqa village in northern Nablus, searching houses and questioning residents. They did not make any arrests. IDF soldiers also entered the villages of Awarta, Sanur, and Zabada, arresting several dozen suspects.

Large Israeli military and police forces were deployed near Nablus to prevent clashes between Jewish settlers and Palestinians after the killings.

Reactions

International

•  United Nations: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's office published a statement saying, "The Secretary-General condemns last night's shocking murder of an Israeli family of five, including three children, in a West Bank settlement. He calls for the perpetrators to be brought to justice, and for all to act with restraint."
• Quartet on the Middle East representative Tony Blair said, "this brutal and appalling murder is shocking and deplorable," and sent his "deepest condolences and sympathy to those remaining members of the family and to the community."
•  France: Foreign Minister Alain Juppe condemned the attack and said France "condemns all acts of violence in the occupied territories and calls for maximum restraint in order to prevent deterioration in the situation."
•  Germany: Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle condemned the "cruel and heinous" slayings, saying "nothing can justify such attacks."
•  United Kingdom: Foreign Secretary William Hague said, "The friends and relatives of the family killed in Itamar have my deepest sympathies. This was an act of incomprehensible cruelty and brutality which I utterly condemn. We hope the perpetrator is swiftly brought to justice."
•  United States: White House spokesman Jay Carney said, "There is no possible justification for the killing of parents and children in their home. We call on the Palestinian Authority to unequivocally condemn this terrorist attack and for the perpetrators of this heinous crime to be held accountable." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, "I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the brutal murder of an Israeli family. The United States condemns this appalling attack in the strongest possible terms. To kill three innocent children and their parents while they sleep is an inhuman crime for which there can be no justification."

Israeli

• President Shimon Peres said, "This is one of the ugliest and most difficult events that we have known, the murder of parents with their small children - among them a three-year-old boy, and a five-month-old baby girl - while they were sleeping in their beds. It shows the loss of humanity... There is no religion in the world, no faith that allows for such horrendous acts."
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas it was not enough to condemn the violence because it "is against Palestinian interests" but because it is morally unacceptable. "I expect that you stop the incitement in the schools, school books and mosques, and educate your children toward peace, as we do The murder of children in their sleep is murder for the sake of murder."

Palestinian

• Hamas, the group that governs the Gaza Strip, did not claim responsibility, but stated that the incident was a Palestinian "revenge" attack on Israelis and argued that Palestinian factions "have the full right... to use all tools and means of resistance" against Israel.

See also

• 2010 Palestinian militancy campaign
• Bat Ayin ax attack

References

1. ^ Fogel family identified as victims of Itamar terror attack, Jerusalem Post 12-03-2011
2. Five members of Jewish family killed in suspected Palestinian militant attack, Guardian 12-03-2011
3. Five Israelis killed in West Bank attack -military, Reuters 12-03-2011
4. Palestinian 'kills five Israelis' in West Bank, BBC 12-03-2011
5. ^ Binyamin Netanyahu calls on world to act after killing of Jewish settlers, Guardian 13-03-2011
6. Gaza celebrates; Fayyad condemns terror attack, Israel News 12-03-2011
7. Itamar attack probe: 2 terrorists jumped over fence, Israel News12-03-2011
8. ^ http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.asp/142843
9. Terror attack probe: Killer entered through window, Israel News 12-03-2011
10. ^ Brutal West Bank killings shock Israel, stir fears of renewed violence, LA Times 13-03-2011
11. Ben Gedalyahu, Tvzi. "Victims Indentified as Family of Rabbi Fogel of Yeshiva Itamar". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
12. ^ Israeli army closes Nablus city after deadly stabbing, Xinhua 12-03-2011
13. 'Blue-and-white' operation to apprehend terrorists Jerusalem Post
14. IDF hunting for perpetrators of brutal Itamar killings Jerusalem Post
15. Israeli troops scour West Bank villages for killers of 5 Jewish settlers, Washington Post 12-03-2011
16. UN Secretary-Generals condemns 'shocking' Itamar murder, Israel News 12-03-2011
17. ^ PM promises to bring Fogel family killers to justice, Jerusalem Post 12-03-2011
18. Hague calls Itamar attack 'act of incomprehensible cruelty', Jerusalem Post 12-03-2011
19. U.S. calls on Palestinians to condemn murder of Israeli family, AFP 12-03-2011
20. Clinton says Itamar attack 'inhumane crime', Israel News 12-03-2011
21. Peres condemns attack on Itamar family, Israel News 12-03-2011
22. Palestinian takes revenge, kills 5 settlers, Al-Qassam, 12-03-2011

External links

• Photos of the aftermath (extremely graphic)

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
• 2011 in Israel
• Terrorist incidents in Israel in 2011