An Israeli was killed in a terror attack at the Tapuah junction in the northern West Bank on Tuesday morning, when he was attacked by a Palestinian man at a hitchhiking spot at the junction.
The Palestinian terrorist came up from behind the victim, identified as Evyatar Borovsky, and then stabbed him in the chest, Judea and Samaria Division Capt. Barak Raz told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.
Security forces are now seeking to verify whether the suspect acted alone or was part of a larger terrorist organization. Initial indications are that he acted alone.
Raz said army medical teams attempted to save Borovsky's life on the scene, but were unsuccessful.
"We're investigating whether the terrorist discharged bullets from the weapon he stole before or after security forces opened fire," Raz added.
Raz noted that it had been almost a year since an Israeli was killed in West Bank terrorism, despite some violent incidents including a rock attack on an Israeli vehicle which critically injured the three-year-old girl Adele Biton, who is still fighting for her life in hospital.
"This reminds us that even in times of relative calm, the alertness and quick response by security forces is very necessary. We are working 24 hours a day to maintain this stability," he added.
The victim, a 32-year-old Israeli father of five from the Yitzhar settlement in the West Bank, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Initial police and Border Police statements differed on whether the man was stabbed by the Palestinian, who then stole his gun, or if the man snatched the victim's gun and then shot him.
The Border Police said minutes after the attack that a terrorist armed with a knife attacked a settler at a hitching post, stole the man's gun and fired at Border Patrol officers who were nearby. The officers returned fire and wounded the man, and then took him into custody, the Border Police said.
Shortly after the attack large numbers of police and security forces swarmed to the scene and closed the junction, while the terrorist was taken for medical treatment and to undergo questioning.
Col. Yoav Yarom, head of the Samaria Regional Brigade, is on the scene along with Brig.-Gen. Tamir Yadai, commander of the Judea and Samaria Division, to help conduct investigations to the attack.
Avraham Benyamin, spokesman for Yitzhar, said Borovsky was a native of Kfar Hasidim who had been living in Yitzhar with his wife and five chldren for five years.
Benyamin said Borovsky had been a theater actor in a number of performance troupes and served on Yitzhar's security team.
In a response to the murder, Benyamin said on behalf of the settlement "the writing was on the wall, written in blood. This murder was a direct refusal of the government's leniency towards rock-throwing terrorism and the continued increase in terror attacks against Jews across Judea and Samaria."
He added that the settlement demands a "painful and serious response to erase the shame of this incident and in order to show the residents that their lives are not worthless."

By BEN HARTMAN, YAAKOV LAPPIN