Israeli police searching for gunman who killed two in Tel Aviv

Israeli police are searching for a gunman who killed two people in an attack in Tel Aviv.

Spokeswoman Luba Samri says police remained on "heightened alert" Saturday. She says police and special forces searched for the shooter throughout the night.

The gunman opened fire outside a bar on a main street in Tel Aviv on Friday afternoon, killing two people and wounding at least three others before fleeing the scene.

The suspect has been identified as Nesha'at Milhem, a 29-year-old Palestinian citizen of Israel from Arara, a town in central Israel. 

Local Arabic-language media reports said that Milhem, who did a stint in Israeli prison in 2006, was identified when his father called and informed police after seeing footage related to the incident on television. 

Israel's Channel 2 also noted that Milhem's cousin was shot and killed by a police officer in 2006.  

Speaking to Israel's army radio, the owner of the bar said that "a man with automatic weapon arrived and started shooting people all over the place".

On Friday night, Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan told Israel's Channel 2 that the motive behind the attack is still unclear. "There is no definitive indication that this was a nationalist act," he said.

Over the past three months, Palestinians have protested against Israel's ongoing occupation, as well as incursions by right-wing settler groups into the Al-Aqsa mosque — the third holiest site for Muslims — in East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Health stated Friday that Israeli soldiers or settlers in 2015 shot and killed 179 Palestinians, including unarmed protesters, bystanders and alleged attackers. Of that total, 143 have been killed since Oct. 1, when tensions escalated sharply. 

Palestinian assailants have since Oct. 1 killed 23 Israelis, including soldiers and civilians. 

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press