Two suspects in the slaying of two off-duty Israeli soldiers have been arrested and are now being interrogated, said Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Faya’d on Saturday.
Faya’d assured Israel that the Palestinian security forces were "not only talking", but taking steps to thwart such attacks. The Palestinian premier expressed his condolences over the deaths of the two victims, Cpl. Ahiqam Amihai and Sgt. David Rubin.
Amihai and Rubin were killed while hiking near Hebron during their vacation from the army. The two were residents of Kiryat Arba, an Israeli community in the West Bank. They were carrying their personal weapons when a group of armed Palestinians opened fire on them. Before being killed, the two soldiers engaged in a gun battle and succeeded in killing one of the attackers and injuring three more.
Shortly after the attack, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Fatah’s Al-Quds Brigades both claimed responsibility for the attack.
"As long as the P.A. fails to take the necessary measures… against the terror organizations, Israel cannot make changes on the ground," said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Sunday’s cabinet meeting.