Israeli security forces on Wednesday eliminated Ashraf Walid Suleiman Naalwa, 23, the terrorist who murdered two Israelis and wounded a third in an Oct. 7 shooting attack in Samaria, following a two-month manhunt.
Naalwa, a former employee of the Alon Group in the Barkan Industrial Park, near the city of Ariel, had entered the company's offices armed with an automatic rifle. Once inside, he handcuffed Kim Levengrond Yehezkel, 28, to a chair and shot her at close range, killing her. He then walked over to the adjacent cubicle and shot Sara Vaturi, 54, in the abdomen, moderately wounding her, and then shot and killed Ziv Hajbi, 35, before fleeing.
The extensive manhunt for Naalwa involved military, police and Shin Bet security agency forces, who were eventually able to track him down to a hideout in Askar, a Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Nablus.
Special forces arrived at the camp in the late hours of Wednesday night and attempted to arrest him, but Naalwa, who was armed with an automatic rifle, opened fire at them. The troops returned fire, killing him.
The military said that several suspected accomplices were arrested during the manhunt for Naalwa and eventually led Israeli forces to him.
A source familiar with the investigation said some of the accomplices provided the Shin Bet with information about a future attack Naalwa had been planning, which has now been thwarted.
Palestinian media reported that a riot broke out in Askar shortly after Naalwa was eliminated. IDF troops reportedly used crowd control measures to disperse it.
"Israeli security forces will continue to spare no effort to ensure the Israeli public's safety and ensure those who carry out terrorist attacks and those who assist them are brought to justice," a statement by the Shin Bet said.
