Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Reuters/Maya Alleruzzo

i24 News – The Israeli military continues to search for the terrorist responsible for murdering two Israeli civilians in the town of Huwara in the West Bank.

The victims, identified as Shai Silas Nigerker, 60, and his son Aviad Nir, 28, from the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, were killed on Saturday afternoon while at a car wash station. According to witnesses, the two men stopped there to have maintenance work done on their vehicle.

The employees of the car wash reportedly alerted the terrorist about the presence of people speaking Hebrew. The terrorist then allegedly approached the victims on foot and shot them at point-blank range before fleeing.

The IDF arrested the owner of the car wash on suspicion of collaborating with the terrorist. Israeli forces also closed the roads around the town and the nearby Tapuach junction, and extended their search to the West Bank city of Nablus, where the terrorist is believed to have escaped.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held a situational assessment of the situation with IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and other defense officials. Gallant called on the military and the Shin Bet internal security agency to secure West Bank communities and roads and take all necessary steps to apprehend the terrorist.

In response to the terror attack in Huwara, Jewish settlers in the West Bank stormed the town targeting Palestinian homes and vehicles, according to Palestinian sources. The assailants threw stones and chanted “Arab, Arab!” attacking homes and cars in northern Huwara.

Fires were also started by extremists. Israeli security forces intervened to calm the rioters.

At the start of the weekly government cabinet meeting, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended his condolences to the Nigrenker family, and vowed to catch the terrorist.

“The security forces are working now to apprehend the murderer and settle accounts with him, just as we have done with anyone who murders Israelis since this government was formed. This terrorist’s day will come, and sooner than he thinks,” Netanyahu said.

The town of Huwara has become a flashpoint due to its geographical location. It is crossed by a main road that Israelis are forced to take due to a lack of alternative routes.

Since the beginning of the year, ten terrorist attacks have been committed in the area, claiming the lives of four people. After previous terrorist attacks, retaliatory riots broke out in the city. The IDF has increased its level of alert in an attempt to maintain peace around Huwara.