Manhunt for Barkan shooter enters third day
Mother and sisters of suspected terrorist arrested in pre-dawn raid before being released
Security forces arrested seven Palestinians in the West Bank village of Shuweika near Tulkarm as a massive manhunt for the terrorist suspected of shooting dead two Israelis and wounding a third in the Barkan Industrial Park near Ariel entered its third day.
On Sunday morning, 23 year-old Ashraf Walid Suleiman Na’alwa reportedly killed Kim Leven-grond-Yehezkel, 29, of Rosh Ha’ayin, and Ziv Hagbi, 35, from Rishon Lezion. He also is suspected of seriously wounding Sara Vaturi before fleeing the scene with the Carlo Gustav submachine gun he used.
According to Palestinian media reports, Na’alwa’s mother and two sisters were detained during the raid, which was carried out by the IDF in cooperation with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Border Police. The three women were released after questioning.
Na’alwa’s brother was also detained on Sunday by the Shin Bet to determine if he knew of his brother’s plans or helped him escape.
No further details were released regarding the manhunt for Na’alwa, who is believed to be armed.
On Monday, his relatives appealed to him to turn himself in on Israel Radio. But according to intelligence officers quoted by Israeli media, it is assumed Na’alwa will engage security forces in a firefight if he is found.
Forces participating in the manhunt for Na’alwa include the Border Police’s counter-terrorism Yamam unit, commandos from the IDF’s elite Duvdevan, Lotar and Oketz units; and the Shin Bet.
Troops from the IDF’s Menashe regional brigade on Sunday mapped Na’alwa’s home in advance of a possible demolition order.
Na’alwa had a permit to work at the Barkan Industrial Park, where he had been employed as an electrician for the past seven months at a factory run by the Alon Group. On Sunday morning, he arrived to the factory with his father and friend who also works in the park, which employs 8,000 Palestinians and Israelis.
According to a report in Israel Hayom, it is believed that Na’alwa knew that the inspection procedures were lax and that he would be able to smuggle in his weapon. The working assumption in the defense establishment is that Na’alwa smuggled his weapon into the factory in his bag which was not checked by security guards. It is believed he was not thoroughly examined when he passed through the metal detector at the industrial park’s entrance.
According to the report, the IDF intends to reexamine the security and inspection procedures in the industrial zones throughout the West Bank, and will change some of the procedures.
Thousands of Palestinians are employed at these industrial and commercial centers in the West Bank with permits issued by the Civil Administration. Defense establishment officials are now examining how to increase the security measures at these sites without triggering an escalation of West Bank violence.
In early August, a senior IDF official in the northern West Bank told The Jerusalem Post that while at the time there had been no successful attacks in the area over the past few months, there remains “a big potential” for deadly attacks.
According to the IDF, troops have seized 330 guns from suspected terrorists so far this year, 100 of which were seized in the last month alone.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday that the suspected shooter would soon be caught.
“I met with the special Mista’arvim Unit of the Duvdevan Brigade. I have been closely following the tremendous efforts to capture the terrorist who murdered Kim Levengrond Yehezkel and Ziv Hagbi… We are getting closer, his time is running out,” he wrote on his Twitter account.