Barkan terrorist’s relatives indicted for not halting attack
23-year-old who killed two in industrial park still on the run
The mother and brother of the Barkan terrorist were indicted by a West Bank military court on Thursday on charges that they knew of the plan and did not try to prevent the attack, the military said in a statement on Friday.
“Two weeks before the attack, the terrorist indicated that he intended to carry out an attack and die as a martyr,” the IDF said.
According to the indictment, Ashraf Waleed Suliman Na’alwa’s mother knew that he had weapons and was training to use them. Two weeks before the attack, she is said to have informed the defendant’s brother of his intentions to carry out the attack and die as a martyr.
The military statement says that neither of them attempted to contact authorities to prevent the attack.
Na’alwa’s brother is also being charged with obstruction of justice after attempting to hide footage from the family home’s security cameras.
“These indictments join other indictments against other suspects who did not prevent the attack,” the statement read.
In early October, Na’alwa, 23, from West Bank village of Shweika near Tulkarm, murdered Kim Levengrond-Yehezkel, 29, from Rosh Ha’ayin, and Ziv Hajbi, 35, from Rishon Lezion. He also is suspected of shooting a third woman, seriously injuring her.
Na’alwa, who had a permit to work at the Barkan park where he was employed as an electrician for the past seven months at a factory run by the Alon Group, is said to have forced an Arab employee to tie up Levengrond-Yehezkel and Hajbi before he shot them with a Carl Gustav submachine and fled the scene.
He has been on the run from authorities for more than a month. The Border Police’s counter-terrorism Yamam unit, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) forces, and troops from the IDF’s elite Duvdevan, Lotar and Oketz units are participating in the manhunt.
The IDF has ordered the partial demolition of the family home after a request was made by the attacker’s family against the demolition order was rejected. The demolition of the building will be limited to the basement and ground floor in which Na’alwa lived.
Following the announcement of the home’s partial demolition, Levengrond-Yehezkel’s father Rafi Levengrond called outgoing Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman a coward after he canceled a scheduled meeting with the bereaved families. According to him, the defense minister didn’t attend the funeral or come to comfort the family during the shiva.
“I do not believe that Lieberman would have wanted to destroy the entire house. He is afraid that the court in The Hague will not allow him to travel around the world,” he told Hadashot news.
Levengrond, who could be heard in the leaked call aired by Hadashot admonishing Lieberman for updating them that the IDF would not be fully demolishing the terrorist’s home, accused Liberman of leaking the recording.
“So, in short, you are doing nothing. Listen, they destroyed my family. Why are you taking his into consideration?… As far as I’m concerned, if you’re going to demolish a corner of the house, don’t destroy it at all, leave it standing,” ” he was heard saying.