IDF Soldier, 19, Stabbed to Death Near Hebron

Dvir Sorek, a devoted IDF soldier and exemplary yeshiva student, was found murdered near Hebron. His grandfather was a victim of terror in 2000.

By Aryeh Savir, TPS and United with Israel Staff

Israeli leaders across the spectrum expressed rage and sorrow over the murder of IDF soldier Dvir Sorek, 19, in Gush Etzion on Wednesday night.

Sorek was participating in a program that combines yeshiva studies with military service. He was found stabbed to death just feet away from his yeshiva, Yeshivat Machanayim, located between Migdal Oz and Efrat in the Judea and Samaria region.

The victim’s grandfather, Rabbi Binyamin Herling, was shot to death by a Palestinian terrorist in Samaria during the Second Intifada, in 2000. Herling was a leader in the religious Zionist movement

“This morning we were informed about a harsh stabbing attack. The security forces are currently in pursuit to apprehend the abhorrent terrorist and bring him to justice,” Prime Minister and Defense Benjamin Netanyahu stated Thursday morning.

“On behalf of myself and the government, I send condolences to the family,” he added.

Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz said that “the heinous act will enforce our resilience to strengthen the Jewish presence throughout the Land of Israel.”

Former Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked, head of the United Right, called to “exact a high price in the face of severe terrorism.”

“With immense pain, we mourn the murder of our dear and beloved student Dvir,” Ohr Torah Stone, an educational movement with which Yeshivat Machanayim is affiliated, said in a statement.

“Dvir was one of the pillars of the Beit Midrash [study hall] with awe, tolerance and wisdom, combined with a kind and compassionate heart for every living thing,” the yeshiva said.

‘We Will Not Weaken as a Nation’

Gush Etzion Regional Council head Shlomo Ne’eman said Thursday morning that “Gush Etzion was awakened to a difficult morning in which pure blood was shed by rogue assassins.”

“We will not weaken as a nation… in these days of the month of Av, mourning for the destruction of the Temple and the long exile, we declare that our stay in the Land of the Fathers is not a passing episode but an existing fact for generations to come.”

“Our bitter enemies will repeatedly try to hurt us, but our answer is the response of the Gush Etzion fighters in the War of Independence, ever more determined – the eternity of Jerusalem,” he added.

Ne’eman called on the Israeli government to “end this war with a triumph. The sovereignty of Israel in Gush Etzion and in Judea and Samaria, in general, is the only national answer that is sought.”