Hunt continues for killer of Israeli student

Investigators believe that the attack was planned as opposed to a spontaneous act of violence.

By World Israel News Staff

Searches continue “throughout Judea and Samaria in the framework of the hunt for the terrorist” who murdered 19-year-old Dvir Sorek, the IDF said Friday.

Sorek’s body was discovered in the Gush Etzion area of Judea early Thursday morning with fatal stab wounds.

The hunt for the killer is concentrated in the nearby Hebron area, according to Kan public radio.

Sorek had been walking near the yeshiva where he was a student. He was enlisted in a program which combines religious studies with military service.

Israeli security investigators are examining why guards at the nearby Migdal Oz community and city of Efrat did not discern of the terrorist activity. The investigators believe that the attack was planned as opposed to a spontaneous act of violence.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group welcomed the killing.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi toured the area on Thursday.

Thousands attended Sorek’s funeral on Thursday evening.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also serves as Defense Minister, said on Thursday, “The security forces are currently in pursuit to apprehend the abhorrent terrorist and bring him to justice.”

Sorek’s grandfather, Rabbi Binyamin Herling, was a Holocaust survivor. In 2000, he was shot to death in a terror attack while on a hike in Samaria.