The deadly shooting in the Barkan Industrial Park in Samaria has prompted the military to review and revise security protocols in industrial zones, defense officials said Monday.
Sunday's terrorist attack saw Ashraf Walid Suleiman Naalwa, 23, a former employee of the Alon Group facility in the park, murder Kim Levengrond Yehezkel, 28, and Ziv Hajbi, 35, and moderately wound a third employee, Sara Vatore.
A massive manhunt has been in place since Sunday for Naalwa, who fled the scene. The IDF and Shin Bet security agency have warned they believe him to be a "ticking time bomb," saying that he is unlikely to hesitate to carry out another attack.
According to available details from the investigation, the terrorist was able to smuggle the rifle into the industrial park in his backpack, as he was not checked upon entering the compound.
Facilities at the Barkan Industrial Park employ some 4,200 Palestinians and 3,000 Israelis. Park security is handled by a private company but while metal detectors are installed at all the gates, the personal screening of those who enter the park is selective rather than comprehensive, meaning, not everyone's personal belongings are searched.
Investigators believe Naalwa knew that, given the lax security, he would be able to smuggle in his rifle. Gate security footage shows him walking into the industrial park carrying a large backpack without going through a metal detector or being searched.
Investigators also believe his killing spree came to an unexpected end after his rifle jammed, which is why he is seen on the security footage fleeing the scene without trying to harm anyone else.
Defense officials told Israel Hayom that the shooting – the first attack to take place in Barkan in at least a decade – is likely to change security procedures in all industrial areas across Judea and Samaria, which together employee some 30,000 Palestinians.
The officials said they expected that all industrial parks in the area would now exercise far stricter screening procedures for those entering these compounds, including adding additional gates to prevent long waiting periods and gridlock on the roads leading to them.
