Israeli security forces gather at the site of an attack at the Barkan Industrial Park in the occupied West Bank on October 7, 2018. (AFP photo)
JERUSALEM, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot ordered to reinforce forces in the West Bank on Sunday after a Palestinian gunman killed two Israelis and injured a third.
The attack took place in the Industrial Zone of Barkan on Sunday morning, a settlement industrial compound in the northern Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israelis and Palestinians work side by side.
Eisenkot decided to reinforce troops and take measures to ensure the safety of citizens, a military spokesperson said in a statement, adding that troops continue their activities to hunt and arrest the suspect.
The military said it was "a severe attack that took place amidst widespread efforts to thwart terror activity in the Israeli-occupied West Bank."
"In the context of these efforts, security forces routinely search for weapons, confiscate terror funds and arrest suspected terrorists as well as popular terror activists," the spokesperson said.
Israeli Commanding Officer of the Central Command Nadav Padan said the army has confiscated over 300 weapons in the West Bank over the past few months.
He said that the "widespread" manhunt for the suspect continues by the Israeli army, Shin Bet security service, and the police.
The suspect was identified by the Shin Bet as a 23-year-old Palestinian man from the area of the West Bank city of Tul Karem.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his condolences at the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday morning.
He added that he is "certain" that the security forces will apprehend the suspect and "we will deal with him to the fullest extent of the law quickly."
The incident came amid tensions in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinians have been staging daily rallies against the blockade imposed by Israel since 2007, and Israeli forces killed at least 190 people since the protest started on March 30.
