Israel tightens security on Palestinian W. Bank workers

By Qays Abu Samra

SALFIT, Palestine (AA) – The Israeli authorities have ratcheted up security measures on Palestinian laborers who work at the Barkan settlement in the occupied West Bank.

On Sunday, two Israeli settlers were killed and a third was injured in a shooting attack inside an industrial zone near the Jewish-only Barkan settlement.

Laborers who spoke to Anadolu Agency on Tuesday said they now had to undergo hours-long searches when going to work at Israeli factories located in the settlement.

"Before the shooting [on Sunday], we would enter [Barkan] in 15 minutes; now I have to wait at the entrance of the industrial zone for an hour and a half before I can to get to work," Muayed Amer, a Palestinian laborer, told Anadolu Agency.

Laborer Mohamed Hassan, for his part, said workers were now forced to wait “for hours” -- even though they had work permits -- until being allowed to enter their places of employment on the settlement.

Following Sunday’s shooting, the assailant -- a former Palestinian worker from the West Bank city of Tulkarm -- managed to flee the scene and is now the target of a manhunt by police.