Eitam Henkin
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A married
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
i couple from Neria, Eitam Simon Henkin, a doctoral student at
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
who also held American citizenship, and Na'ama Henkin, a graphic designer, were shot and killed on October 1, 2015, in the
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
. The Henkins were driving past the town of
Beit Furik Beit Furik () is a town located nine kilometers southeast of Nablus, in the Nablus Governorate of the northern West Bank, Palestinian territories, Palestine. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of ...
, when the attack occurred. The Henkins' four children were in the van at the time of their parents' killing.Leibowitz, Liel
"The Murder of Eitam and Na’ama Henkin."
''Tablet Magazine''. October 2, 2015.Goldman, Paul
"Eitam Henkin, Killed With Wife in West Bank Shooting, Was American."
''NBC News''. October 6, 2015. According to a statement released by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a group affiliated with the Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the Israeli prosecution indicated that the attack was carried out by a
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
cell.


Assailants

* Yahia Muhammad Naif Abdullah Hajj Hamad, shooter. * Samir Zahir Ibrahim Kusah, the driver, has been linked to previous attacks. Over a month before murdering the Henkins, Kusah together with Hajj Hamad, fired 20 rounds at an Israeli car near Enav, injuring driver Ronen Edri. * Karem Lufti Fatahi Razek, gunman, who himself was wounded during the attack by gunfire by one of his fellow operative cell members. * Zir Ziad Jamal Amar, who cleared the way for the car carrying the gunmen. *Ragheb Ahmad Muhammad Aliwi (or Aliwa), who allegedly recruited, led and instructed the other four, is a paroled militant from Nablus. Two other members of Aliwa's terror cell were also eventually convicted of aiding and abetting: * Bassad Saikh ''a/k/a'' Bassam Ameen al-Sayeh * Amgad Aliwa


Indictments

The assailants were indicted for murder, and for planning to kidnap the occupants of the car, a plan that was thwarted when Eitam Henkin tried to fight the attackers off.


Context

The killing is cited as the first incident in the 2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Amos Harel Amos Harel (Hebrew: עמוס הראל) is an Israeli journalist. Personal Harel was born in 1968. He attended high school in Hebrew University Secondary School. He graduated from Tel Aviv University and lives in Hod Hasharon. Journalism care ...
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Aftermath

Following the killings,
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
sent hundreds of soldiers in pursuit of the perpetrators of the attack. They were joined by members of the
Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...
. Subsequently, Israeli security forces reportedly detained five members of a
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
militant cell linked to the attack. Hamas praised the attack. The Henkins were buried in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
. The funeral was attended by thousands of Israelis, including President
Reuven Rivlin Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin ( ; born 9 September 1939) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the president of Israel between 2014 and 2021. He is a member of the Likud party. Rivlin was Minister of Communications from 2001 to 2003, and su ...
and Chief Rabbi
David Lau David Baruch Lau (; born 13 January 1966) is an Israeli rabbi who served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 2013 to 2024. He previously served as the Chief Rabbi of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut, Israel, and as the Chief Rabbi of Shoham. La ...
."President Rivlin Joins Thousands at Funerals of Henkin Couple."
''The Jewish Press''. October 2, 2015. Following the attack, settlers threw stones at Palestinian cars, ambulances and at Palestinian homes in the southern part of the village of Burin, close to the Yitzhar settlement. A 28-year-old woman was lightly wounded at Itzhar Junction and a Palestinian driver was lightly hurt in the entrance to Nablus. Eventually the homes of six of the seven terrorists were demolished. On Nov. 14, 2015 the homes of Hamad, Kusah, and Razek were demolished. After another round of legal challenges ringleader Ragheb Aliwa's home was demolished on Dec. 3, 2015. Although the court had originally prevented the demolition of Amar's home since it was part of a multi-story residential building, following convictions of an additional murder committed earlier, his home and those of cell members Saikh and Amgad Aliwa were scheduled to be demolished and on Feb. 5, 2016, the owners of those last three homes were all warned of the imminent demolitions. Eventually Amgad Aliwa's homes was demolished and in May, 2016, so was Amar's. However, following further legal challenges the Supreme Court reversed its earlier ruling on al-Sayeh's home and just before the first anniversary of the murder on Sep 27, 2016 it finally denied the demolition order.


Response


President of Israel

President Rivlin's statement condemning the murder read "Tonight, bloodthirsty murderers claimed the lives of a mother and a father, leaving their young children orphaned. The heart breaks at the magnitude of such cruelty and hatred. We will continue in our brave and unwavering fight against this cruel and heinous terrorism - of this our enemies can be sure. This is our duty, and the only way we can ensure the right of the orphans who lost their parents tonight, along with the right of all our children and grandchildren, to live with security and in peace, everywhere in the Land of Israel. We pray for the speedy recovery of the injured children - our hearts and thoughts are with them."" Statements by President Rivlin and PM Netanyahu on terror attack."
''Ministry of Foreign Affairs''. October 1, 2015.


Prime Minister of Israel

Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
's statement read "This is a difficult day for the State of Israel. We are witness to an especially heinous and shocking murder in which parents were murdered, leaving four young orphans. My heart is with the children, all of our hearts are with the children and the family. The killers knew that they were murdering a mother and father, the children were there. It has been proven again that the wild Palestinian incitement leads to acts of terrorism and murder such as we have seen this evening. I am about to speak with the Defense Minister, the IDF Chief-of-Staff and the Director of the ISA about the steps we will take not only to apprehend the murderers but also to increase security for all Israeli citizens." ''The New York Times'' quoted the Israeli Prime Minister stating "Palestinian terrorists murdered yesterday a young mother and father, leaving four little orphans. But I have to say, I have yet to hear any condemnation from President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority. Worse, I heard senior officials from his Fatah movement praise this action. They say this is the way to go. No, it is not the way to go. The way to go for any conceivable arrangement is to fight terrorism and to make sure that terrorism reaps no rewards."


Israel's Minister for Agriculture

Agriculture Minister
Uri Ariel Uri Yehuda Ariel (; born 22 December 1952) is an Israeli politician who formerly served as a member of the Knesset for The Jewish Home (within which he chaired the Tkuma faction), and as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Biograph ...
stated "This is a day of celebration of the holiday but also a difficult day for all of the people of Israel. This is a disgrace to the State of Israel. Terror continues in Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount, and throughout the country."


Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
condemned the murder, stating "The killing of a husband and wife in their car while their four children watched is a despicable act that flies in the face of law and decency. No political motive can justify targeting civilians."


Court actions

The relatives of Eitam and Naama Henkin brought a civil suit to a federal court in the United States against Iran and Syria for financing and arming Hamas. In 2021, the court ruled in favor of the Henkin relatives and found the countries liable for damages. According to the family's lawyer, the ruling marks the first time Iranian banks would be held liable for foreign terror activities that resulted in the killing of an American citizen. The legal action sought $360 million in civil damages for the wrongful death of the Henkin couple.


See also

* Silent intifada * Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015) * Eitam Henkin on
Hebrew Wikipedia Hebrew Wikipedia (, ) is the Hebrew language edition of Wikipedia. This edition was started on 8 July 2003 and contains articles as of . History Timeline *8 July 2003: The Hebrew edition of Wikipedia was launched. * 25 October 2003: The 1,0 ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henkin, Eitam and Na'ama Israeli–Palestinian conflict Attacks in Asia in 2015 American people murdered abroad Crime in Palestine 2015 murders in Asia Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades attacks Hamas attacks