On the morning of 7 October 2018, a Palestinian gunman opened fire on several Israeli civilians in the

Barkan Industrial Park The Barkan Industrial Park (, lit. Barkan Industrial Area) is located about 25 kilometres east of Tel Aviv in the West Bank. Its offices are located at the northern entrance. The industrial park is located adjacent to the Israeli settlement Bark ...

, killing two and critically injuring another. The shooting incident was declared a "terrorist attack" by the IDF. It was the first attack in the park and the second fatal attack in the West Bank to occur in three weeks. The attacker, a 23-year-old Palestinian, had worked in the factory where the shooting took place. IDF forces conducted an intensive two-month manhunt to capture the militant who fled the scene. The IDF arrested some relatives of the assailant.

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Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

declared the shooting "a very severe terror attack".

Manhunt for shooter ends in his death

The two-months long search for the shooter ended on 12 December when his hiding place was discovered by Israeli security. He shot at the arresting officers who returned fire, killing him. The militant was killed on 13 December 2018 after an armed clash with a special IDF force called

Yamam Yamam (), also known as National Counter-Terrorism Unit, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, one of four special units of the Israel Border Police. The Yamam is capable of both hostage-rescue operations and offensive take-over raids ag ...

in the Askar refugee camp in

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

. The shooter, Ashraf Naalwa, 23, from the West Bank village of Shuweika near Tulkarem, was said by security officials to have been planning a new attack at the time he was found and killed. The IDF ordered the demolition of Naalwa's home.

References

Terrorist incidents in the West Bank in 2018 Terrorist incidents in Asia in 2018 October 2018 crimes in Asia 2018 murders in Asia Palestinian political violence October 2018 in Asia {{Palestine-stub