Home Of West Bank Gunman’s Family To Be Demolished
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The home of the Palestinian man who killed two Israeli co-workers at a factory in the Barkan industrial zone in the West Bank is slated to be demolished.
The Israel Defense Forces notified the family of Ashraf Walid Saliman Na’alwa, 23, on Sunday night that the family home will be demolished, a method used by the military to deter future attacks.
The family can appeal the decision until Thursday.
Na’alawa shot and killed Kim Levengrond Yehezkel, 29 and a mother of one, of Rosh Haayin, and Ziv Hajbi, a 35-year-old father of three from Rishon Lezion, and injured another woman, 54. Yehezkel’s hands were bound and she was shot at close range.
Na’alawa’s sister was arrested late last week in connection with the search for him, days after other family members appealed to him on Israel’s Public Radio to turn himself in.
The attack on Oct. 7 is reported to be the first of its kind in the Barkan Industrial Park.
The gunman used an assault rifle and was caught on security cameras leaving the factory. He lived in the village of Shweika, near the West Bank city of Tulkarem, and had a permit to enter Barkan for work, but it is not known how he was able to bring the weapon into the industrial zone. He reportedly left behind a suicide note with a friend.
The Israel Defense Forces has been searching for the attacker since the incident.
The Barkan Industrial Zone is home to 160 factories that employ thousands of Israelis and Palestinians.
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
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