A Palestinian gunman killed two Israelis at an industrial zone for an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank on Sunday.
The Israeli military said that a 23-year-old man carried out the attack in the Barkan industrial zone and forces were still searching for him.
The zone is located near the Israeli settlement of Barkan and the settlement of Ariel located in the north of the West Bank. Around 5,000 Palestinians are employed there in Israeli-owned businesses.
"This was a serious terrorist attack," the military said in a statement.
Surveillance camera footage broadcast on Israeli television showed a man armed with a rifle fleeing down stairs and running away from the factory.
The military said that the suspect used a homemade 'Carlo' gun in the attack. The gun has become a weapon of choice for Palestinians who carry out shooting attacks against Israelis. It is a sub-machine gun version of the Swedish Carl Gustav rifle that can cost as little as $780 to produce.
The weapons also pose a security challenge for the Israeli military as these weapons are made at home with separate parts, such as scrap paintball guns and pipes, which are welded together.
Palestinians work side by side with Israelis in the industrial zone. A wave of Palestinian attacks against Israelis broke out in 2015, but they have since become sporadic.
Such attacks continue to target Israel and its settlement enterprise. Dozens of outposts have been established across the West Bank and hold more than 400,000 Israelis on West Bank land. The majority of the international community considers these outposts to be illegal under international law.
The attack comes amid a series of moves against the Palestinians by US President Donald Trump. In December, he announced his relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He has cut all funding to the United Nations agency for Palestinians refugees and to East Jerusalem hospitals that serve ill Palestinians.
_________
Read more:
As Gaza's economy collapses, so does any hope of peace
UN calls on Israel and Hamas to prevent further deaths
West Bank village braces for another two-state death blow
‘Thousands’ of Palestinians to protect village ahead of demolition deadline