A Palestinian stabbed five people to death, three of them children, after breaking into the home of a Jewish family in a West Bank settlement early today, Israeli officials said.
Troops set up roadblocks and were searching the area around the settlement of Itamar, near the Palestinian city of Nablus, for the attacker who entered into the house and killed a couple and three of their children, including a baby.
"This is the despicable murder of an entire, innocent family, parents and their young ones while they slept in their house," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
"Israel will not ignore such a contemptible murder and will act aggressively to ensure the security of its civilians and to punish the murderers," Netanyahu said. He called on the Palestinian Authority to assist in catching those responsible.
Salam Fayyad, prime minister of the West Bank-based Palestinian government, said such violence was never justified.
"There should be no doubt over our position regarding violence. We have rejected it totally and we have always condemned it," Mr Fayyad was quoted as saying by the official Palestinian WAFA news agency.
Though no group claimed initial responsibility for the violence, the Islamist movement Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip said it offered its "full support" to any actions taken against Israeli settlers.
Reuters