PA officials say West Bank attack indicates highly organized cell — report

Rina Shnerb, 17, who was killed in a terror attack in the West Bank on August 23, 2019

Times of Israel reports, “As Israeli security forces on Saturday continued to hunt for the perpetrators of a West Bank bombing attack that killed an Israeli teenager a day earlier, Palestinian security officials told Channel 12 news that they viewed the attack as a “dangerous” development, and said the complexity and characteristics of the operation indicated it was carried out by a highly organized cell rather than so-called lone-wolf attackers.”

“The unnamed Palestinian officials expressed concern over the cell’s capability to carry out the attack that killed 17-year-old Rina Shnerb, saying the existence of such cells posed danger not just to Israelis but to the Palestinian Authority as well. On Saturday night medical officials said the condition of Rina’s brother, 19-year-old Dvir Shnerb, who was seriously wounded in the terror attack, had improved following an operation and he was now in moderate condition. His father Rabbi Eitan Shnerb, 46, was in stable condition and continuing to improve.”…

Israeli soldiers stand at the site where a bomb exploded near the Israeli settlement of Dolev 

“Security officials told the Walla news site Saturday they believed the perpetrators behind the attack may have originally intended to target a military patrol that periodically visits the site. They said evidence indicated the cell was familiar with security arrangements in the area and may have intended to hit troops when it arrived. They believed the cell lay in ambush several hundred meters away from the natural spring where it had set the booby trap. When it saw the Shnerb family arrive, it decided to activate the bomb against them instead.” (more…)