A 23-year-old Palestinian terrorist allegedly murdered two Israelis on Sunday, shooting them both to death and wounding another.
The alleged terrorist, who has been identified by the IDF as Ashraf Na’alowa, worked as an electrician at the Alon Group factory in the Barkan Industrial Zone in the Samaria region, according to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus. He reportedly took a pair of handcuffs at the factory warehouse and slapped them on the factory’s secretary, 29-year-old Kim Levengrond Yehezkel, and shot her to death with an M16 rifle he had hidden in his bag.
Na’alowa then allegedly shot 35-year-old Ziv Hajbi fatally, who was an accountant at the factory; a third woman was also shot, but she survived with a moderate wound in her upper body.
According to the IDF, Na’alowa is still at large and is believed to be from Shuweika village in the northern West Bank. The IDF raided the village and arrested Na’alowa’s brother and detained his sister. Na’alowa wrote on Facebook on Sunday before the shooting that he was “waiting for [Allah].”
Palestinian Media Watch noted that a Fatah official blamed Israel for being “incapable of protecting anyone that steals the Palestinian land.” Hamas and Islamic Jihad both praised the murders, calling them “heroic” and “natural.”
Yehezekel was laid to rest on Sunday, with hundreds attending her funeral.
“I’m sorry I was not there with you,” Yehezekel’s father said during his eulogy. “Unfortunately I couldn’t make it in time. I promise you that Guy [her husband] and Kai [Yehezekel’s 1-year-old son] will have everything they need. I promise I’ll take care of them the same way I used to take care of you. You can rest in peace.”
Hajbi was laid to rest on Monday, leaving behind his wife Natalie and their three children.
“I’m walking and crying,” Hajbi’s brother Or said in his eulogy. “Words are not coming out. I want to awake from this nightmare so much and can’t do it. I didn’t want to become part of the bereaved.”
