2005 Gush Etzion junction shooting

The "Hebron Cell" included Shkiv Baher Shkiv Al-Aiwei, a 23-year-old clothes merchant; Musa Ibrahim Fahd Wazwaz, a 24-year-old store clerk; Qassem Farid Al-Aziz Jabar, 21, (who left it after a failed attack attempt); Luai Oweiwi, his cousin (who left the cell after the first attack); and Mohammed Aschak Ali Al-Golani, a 24-year-old construction worker from the village of Beit Kahil. The cell members first acquired an AK-47 rifle, ammunition and a vehicle which they used for attacks. Later they bought two more Carl Gustav submachine guns, and also replaced the vehicle used for attacks twice.[9][10]

In April 2005, the militants tried to attack an IDF force in Hebron, but their weapon malfunctioned, the soldiers returned fire and the attempt failed. The first attack they carried out was on June 24, 2005, at a hitchhiking post at the exit from the settlement of Beit Hagai in southern Mount Hebron. In the attack, the teenagers Aviad Menzor and Avichai Levy were murdered, and three others were injured. In another attack they shot at a military jeep north of Hebron, but did not hit anyone. In another incident, they lightly wounded two soldiers in Hebron's Kasbah. A passing Palestinian pedestrian who was caught in the exchange of fire was killed. The next attack occurred at the Gush Etzion junction, in which Al-Aiwei, Fahd Wazwaz, and Al-Golani murdered three people. On December 16, 2005, cell members murdered Yossi Shok of Beit Hagai on Highway 60.[11][10]

The manhunt for the cell lasted more than six months, and during that time, in December 2005, a new investigative team was established, in cooperation between the ISA and the IDF. The security forces assumed that this was a local organization, made up of family members from the Hebron area. The breakthrough was achieved on January 12, 2006, following the arrest of Shkiv Oweiwi by the Judea and Samaria Police District. During his interrogation, the entire cell was exposed. On January 20, the rest of the cell members were captured by fighters from the Duvdevan Unit, the Paratroopers Brigade and the Border Police undercover unit. Various cell supporters were also arrested.[10]

In March 2006, an indictment was filed against the three cell members, who were accused of murdering six Jews in attacks in Beit Hagai, Gush Etzion and southern Mount Hebron, as well as the death of a Palestinian passerby in Hebron. In May 2006, their trial began. In March 2008, the Ofer Military Court sentenced four members of the cell to life imprisonment.[12][13]

In October 2011, the cell members were released as part of the Shalit deal, after serving less than six years in prison. Ahead of the release of the murderers in the deal, the Mendel family filed a civil lawsuit against the three murderers of their daughter, in order to compel the justice system to keep the terrorists within Israel's borders.[14][15][16]

commemoration of Matat

Following the murders, the families of the victims and their friends worked to commemorate them.

• In Matat Rosenfeld's memory, a branch of Lindenbaum College was established in Karmiel which is active to this day and is called "Midrasha Matat".[17] Two lookout points were also inaugurated in her memory, one in the community of Beit Horon where she grew up and one overlooking the Dead Sea in the community of Ma'ale Hever where she worked at the midrasha.[18]

• In memory of Kinneret Mendel, the central synagogue "Shirat Kinneret" was built in Carmel where she grew up. A Torah scroll was placed in it to fill her soul. Lookout points were inaugurated in the moshav Carmel and on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.[19]

• The Israeli singer Ovadiah Hamama wrote and composed a song called “An Eternal Rising Circle” in her memory, which was published as part of his album “Heaven and Earth”. In September 2007, the album reached gold record status, and brought Chamama the Ministry of Education and Culture’s award for Hebrew song for 2007 in the composer of the year category.[20][21]

• Seven years after the attack, the Rosenfeld family established the “Matat Site” which assists religious girls in guidance for meaningful and efficient service in the IDF and national service, as well as guidance for midrashot and pre-military preparatory programs. The site operates on "wisdom of the crowds" technology and makes the experience of female servicewomen graduates accessible to girls enlisting for military or national service.[22][23]

• The Israeli singer Udi Davidi wrote and composed the song “Carried on the Wind” in 2013 in memory of the teenager Oz Ben-Meir.[24]

Regarding the IDF's response to the attacks, the U.S. State Department issued a statement saying that "Israel should take steps to ease the daily hardship of Palestinians" while at the same time adding that "Israel has the right of self-defense against terror" and that the Palestinian side is committed to fighting terror.[25]