West Bank attack deals heavy blow to Israel
The stabbing of an off-duty Israeli soldier at a West Bank settlement stuns the nation; the Hebrew-language media points fingers at Hamas.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Israeli army deployed large numbers of troops in the West Bank the morning of Aug. 8, turning it into a military zone after the discovery of the body of an off-duty Israeli soldier, Dvir Sorek, 18, in the Gush Etzion settlement near Bethlehem. Sorek had been stabbed to death.
Following the discovery of Sorek’s body, the Israeli army scoured the town of Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, combing agricultural lands and going through surveillance camera tapes from the town entrance in an attempt to identify the perpetrators. The army raided several areas in Bethlehem and Hebron and closed the main roads between the southern West Bank cities Aug. 8.
