Two Israeli security guards, Shimon Mizrachi, 53 of Bat Hefer and Eli Wasserman, 51, of Alfei Menashe were killed this morning (Friday, 25 April 2008), in a shooting attack in the Nitzanei Shalom industrial park in central Israel. The two were in charge of screening Palestinians coming to work at the factory complex.
At around 7:20 am, Magen David Adom emergency services received a report that several people had been shot in the Nitzanei Shalom industrial zone, near Moshav Nitzanei Oz in the Sharon region of central Israel. Large rescue forces were dispatched to the area.
An initial investigation revealed that a terrorist had managed to infiltrate into the area, opened fire at the guards at close range and fled. The Al-Quds Brigades of the Islamic JIhad organization and Izzadin al-Qassam of Hamas claimed joint responsibility for the attack.
The Nitzanei Shalom industrial park, where the attack took place, is located near the security fence, not far from the city of Tulkarm (in Samaria, on the "West Bank") . The complex was built in 1995 and houses nine factories that provide jobs to many Palestinians from Samaria.
Following the attack, IDF forces combed the area in search of the terrorists and the entrance to the industrial zone was blocked.
A similar attack occured in August 2002, in which 27-year-old truck driver Shani Ladani was shot dead at close range by terrorists in the same industrial zone.