Jerusalem – Stabbing Attack Victims Named, Watch: Soldier Who Neutralized Attacker Speaks Up

Jerusalem – The three victims of Friday evening’s lethal terror attack in the West Bank settlement of Halamish were named Saturday night.

70-year-old Yosef Salomon and his children Chaya (46) and Elad (36 years old and a father of five) all perished in the attack.

Yosef’s wife Tovah is still hospitalized after suffering grave injuries.

The three were enjoying a Friday evening meal and the whole family had gathered that night to celebrate the birth of Elad’s son who was born less than 24 hours earlier.

Their happy, calm evening was interrupted when 19-year-old Palestinian terrorist Omar al Abdel from the nearby village of Khobar infiltrated their home and wielding a knife, began assaulting them. While the three did not survive, some of the family members did manage to flee during the rampage.

The terrorist was eventually neutralized by a soldier who was in the area and heard the sounds emanating from the scene.

The soldier, who is serving in the IDF’s Oketz Unit (an elite canine special forces unit), recounted Saturday how he had rushed to the scene of the terror attack. “I was standing outside the house and I saw the terrorist from the window. I understood that I had to act cool-headedly and be professional. I fired one bullet at him, and it hurt him in the stomach and neutralized him,” he said.

“Mostly I was at the right place and at the right time,” the soldier added. “We join the family in their grief and hug them. Personally for me it’s a complicated event, I’m trying to focus on the fact that in the little that I did I prevented something that could have been a much worse event in a short amount of time.”

At the conclusion of Shabbat, residents of the Israeli town in Binyamin said they would not be driven out of their homes by terrorists, and added that the attack was only the latest installment in a years-long attempt by Palestinians to frighten them into leaving.

“Our community has experienced tough times, but we have continued to flourish and grow. Seven months ago, terrorists set fire to our community and 15 homes were burnt. The families rebuilt.

“There is a direct link between that attack and last night’s,” the community said in a statement.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and members of the IDF General Staff, including Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, visited Neve Tzuf, which is also known as Halamish, and promised to restore security for all Israelis.

Saturday night, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Reuven (Ruby) Rivlin addressed the attack, sending condolences to the bereaved family and promising to .

“At this difficult time our hearts go out to the bereaved family,” said Rivlin. “The difficult pictures, and the thoughts of the children who fled for shelter now dealing with the terrible news – it is truly heartbreaking.

“We embrace the members of the family into our hearts, and are inspired by the courage and composure of a mother who stood alone in the face of such horror, and by the IDF soldier who brought an end to the terrible campaign of murder.

Rivlin also called on the international community to denounce the attack, and to join with the State of Israel in the war against terror and incitement. One who does not denounce terror is a partner to it, and has a hand in the deterioration of the whole region into a needless, bloody war, which no one wants.”

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen Yoav (Poly) Mordechai, echoed Rivlin’s sentiment, saying the army would consider alternatives to metal detectors at gates to the Temple Mount as long as the alternatives “are effective at preventing the next terror attack” but also criticizing the Palestinian Authority for refusing to condemn the attack.

“Anyone who doesn’t condemn an attack like that is a partner in it,” said Maj. Gen. Mordechai.

The times of the funerals were yet to have been released.