WarSclerotic

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday vowed ‎that Israel would “settle the score” with ‎Palestinian terrorists carrying out attacks against ‎Israelis.‎

Two Israeli soldiers, Kfir Infantry Brigade Sgt. ‎‎‎Yosef Cohen, 19, and Staff Sgt. Yovel Mor Yosef, ‎‎‎20, ‎were gunned down Thursday near the ‎‎Givat Asaf ‎‎‎outpost in the Binyamin region. A third soldier was ‎‎‎critically injured in the attack and a civilian, 20-year-old ‎‎‎Shira Sabag, sustained serious injuries.‎

The attack came on the heels of a ‎similar drive-by ‎shooting that took place on Sunday ‎evening at a bus ‎stop near the Samaria settlement of ‎‎Ofra, ‎just 2 ‎kilometers (1.2 miles) north of Givat ‎Asaf.‎ ‎

Seven Israelis, including a pregnant woman, were ‎‎wounded in the attack. The woman’s baby, delivered ‎‎via emergency C-section at 30 weeks, was in critical ‎‎condition for three days. He died on Wednesday ‎‎evening.‎

‎”Last night [Wednesday] we settled the score with ‎the murderers from the terrorist attacks in the ‎Barkan Industrial Park and Ofra, and today ‎‎[Thursday] we suffered a harsh attack in which two ‎soldiers were killed,” Netanyahu said. ‎

‎”We will settle the score with whoever did this. Our ‎guiding principle is that whoever attacks us or ‎tries to attack us will pay with their life. Our ‎enemies know this and we will find them,”‎ he said.

Thursday saw the Israeli military launch a massive ‎manhunt for the Givat Asaf terrorists, setting up ‎checkpoints and blocking roads. As of Thursday, ‎Israeli forces were also surrounding Ramallah and ‎the adjacent villages, where the terrorists may be ‎hiding. ‎

Netanyahu, who is also acting defense minister, ‎ordered increased IDF deployment across Judea and ‎Samaria, and called for demolishing the terrorists’ ‎homes within 48 hours.‎

IDF Spokesman in English Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus ‎said augmented security measures were aimed at ‎preventing copycat attacks. ‎

‎”We know that when there is one attack there may be ‎others,” he said.‎Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas ‎condemned Israel’s action and accused it of creating ‎a climate conducive to violence.

‎”This atmosphere created by the frequent Israeli ‎raids of the cities, and the absence of hope for peace, lead ‎to this series of violence that both peoples are ‎paying the price for,” he said in a statement.‎

Israeli defense officials said Hamas, the terrorist ‎group that rules the Gaza ‎Strip,‎ was behind this ‎week’s attacks. ‎

The group lauded the shootings, threatening they ‎were “only the beginning.”‎