Israel Hunts Attackers Who Killed Five Settlers

The Israeli military has set up checkpoints and made arrests Saturday in a massive search for suspects, believed to be Palestinian militants, accused of knifing an Israeli family of five to death in their sleep in a West Bank settlement. The attack happened late Friday in Itamar, killing a husband and wife, an 11-year-old, a 3-year-old, and a baby girl. The bodies were discovered by a 12-year-old female family member who was away at a youth function when the attacks occurred. The Israeli military claimed “Palestinian terrorists” caused the attack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “deeply shocked” by the killings and called on the Palestinian authority to help bring the killers to justice. Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad also condemned the attack. “Violence does not justify violence, we condemn it completely, whoever does it and whoever the victims are," Fayyad told the Associated Press. The Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a largely defunct Palestinian militant group, took responsibility for the attack, although they have a reputation for taking credit for attacks they didn’t do, so it’s not clear if they really committed the heinous crime.