WarSclerotic

The IDF and Shin Bet killed Ashraf Walid Suleiman Na’alwa, 23, the Barkan terrorist, early Thursday morning in Nablus, the Shin Bet said.

During the operation, a battle developed in the apartment where Na’alwa was hiding, and he was killed during the gunfight.

The security forces arrested and interrogated a number of people who were believed to have information on Na’alwa’s whereabouts. The interrogations revealed Na’alwa plotted to commit another terrorist attack, the Shin Bet revealed.

In early October, Na’alwa killed Kim Levengrond-Yehezkel, 29, of Rosh Ha’ayin, and Ziv Hajbi, 35, from Rishon Lezion in the Barkan Industrial Park in the Samaria region of the West Bank. A third Israeli was also moderately wounded.

Na’alwa, from the village of Shuweika near the West Bank Palestinian city of Tulkarm, had no previous security related history, IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Ronen Manelis told reporters after the terrorist attack occurred.

Na’alwa had a permit to work at the Barkan park. He had been employed as an electrician for the past seven months at a factory run by the Alon Group. However, he had not come to work for the past few weeks, according to Manelis.

A senior IDF officer told Army Radio that security forces had been close to capturing Na’alwa on several occasions before, but that he succeeded in escaping at the last minute. In addition, the officer said that Na’alwa did not use mobile phones or any other communications technology, making it more difficult for Israeli security forces to locate him.

The manhunt went on for over two months.

Tovah Lazaroff and Anna Ahronheim contributed to the report.