Bat Ayin teen killed, child hurt in ax attack, terrorist escapes

A 13-year old boy was murdered yesterday and a seven-year old boy lightly injured when an ax-wielding terrorist attacked them in the settlement of Bat Ayin in Gush Etzion yesterday.

A local man fought the terrorist and managed to pry the ax away from him, but the assailant managed to escape.

The murdered youth, Shlomo Nativ, was laid to rest at the regional cemetery of Gush Etzion, not far from Kfar Etzion. The funeral procession, attended by hundreds of people, was relatively quiet.

"We are all like one big family here," Avi, a friend said. "We are all in shock and mourning."

The injured boy, Yair Gamliel, is the son of Ofer Gamliel, who is serving a prison sentence for his role in the Jewish Underground.

"Someone jumped behind me and hit me hard on the head," was how his mother Michal described Yair recalling the attack. "I fell on the ground and I saw the Arab chasing the other boy."

Two days after being sworn in, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement condemning the terror attack.

The prime minister was briefed on the attack and the subsequent manhunt during the course of the day.

"Netanyahu said that he views the attack with the utmost gravity, and that he has instructed the defense and security forces to make every effort to speedily apprehend the murderer," a statement issued by his office read.

The Israel Defense Forces said last night that they had obtained information on the identity of the attacker and that they expected to make an arrest within several hours.

IDF forces arriving at the scene began searching the nearby Palestinian villages, using trackers, helicopters and the Shin Bet security services. Initial findings suggest that the terrorist fled toward the village of Khirbat Safa. Two shepherds from the village who knew the terrorist and had seen him earlier were detained by security forces for questioning.

Dozens of residents of the area near the village were held for questioning.

Army sources insisted yesterday that this is the kind of attack for which there can be no intelligence because they are driven by a single person who is armed with improvised weaponry.

The residents of Bat Ayin have refused to set up a fence around the settlement for ideological reasons.

"As far as we are concerned, our area of control stretches as far as a bullet from an M-16," said one of the veteran settlers in the community. "That is better than a fence."

Avinoam, the settler who fought off the terrorist, described the scene.

"I had come out of the secretariat's office and I saw a boy running. The terrorist was chasing him with the ax. I ran over to him and he tried to swing the ax at me. I grabbed his hand and fought him and yelled for people to come help. First I grabbed his hand so he wouldn't kill me. At some point I got hold of the ax and he managed to escape. I called for someone to chase him," he said.

"At first I had thought it was a worker and nothing seriously, until I realized it was an Arab," he said. "I have no idea whether it was someone who was employed here illegally, because we do not hire Arabs. He had murder in his eyes."

Shaul Goldstein, head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, said that "one of the emergency security squad members managed to shoot at the terrorist, but we do not know whether he was hurt. We are not afraid of these terrorists. Even though he was not caught, we are returning to routine."