After attack at synagogue: Another attack in East Jerusalem

Status: 01/28/2023 8:00 p.m

Two attacks within 24 hours: After the deadly attack on a synagogue on Friday evening, two people were injured by gunshots in east Jerusalem today. According to the police, the perpetrator is only 13 years old.

After the deadly terrorist attack near a synagogue in East Jerusalem, a 13-year-old carried out another attack in the city, according to the police. The boy shot and injured two people in the Silwan district, it said. There is a suspicion of terrorism. Armed passers-by with gun licenses shot the boy, police said. Media reported that he was Palestinian.

The two seriously injured men were taken to the hospital for treatment, according to the Magen David Adom ambulance service. Police say they are father and son. The suspect was also in a clinic for treatment, and his handgun was confiscated. “He’s been waiting to ambush civilians on the Holy Sabbath,” police spokesman Dean Elsdunne told the AP.

Another attempted attack is said to have taken place in the evening near Jericho in the West Bank. A man fired a shot in a restaurant, the Israeli army said. Apparently nobody was injured. The man then ran away, the armed forces are currently looking for him. Israeli media reported surveillance camera footage showed he was armed with an assault rifle. But there were problems with the gun.

Security Cabinet meets in the evening

Another attacker fired at a synagogue in an Israeli settlement in east Jerusalem on Friday evening. Seven people died and several were injured. According to the police, the assassin was shot while trying to escape. It was initially unclear whether the two attacks were related.

The alleged assassin on Friday is said to be a 21-year-old Palestinian who lived in East Jerusalem. According to the latest findings, the man had no terrorist past, although – according to Israeli media reports – he is said to have sympathized with the extremist terrorist organization Hamas.

So far, at least 42 suspects have been arrested in this connection. These were relatives and neighbors of the assassin, the police said. It remains unclear whether those arrested are accused of having been involved in the attack or its preparation.

Netanyahu warns against vigilantism

Last night Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw the situation for himself at the scene of the crime in Neve Jaakov, a settlement in East Jerusalem. The hearts of the people of Israel are with the families of the murdered, he said. Netanyahu also announced “immediate countermeasures”. The security cabinet should meet for this in the evening and discuss the consequences, as the head of government explained on Israeli television.

Israel’s controversial Minister for National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir had announced a harsh reaction at the site of the attack. His appearance in Jerusalem was accompanied by different reactions from the people there. Some shouted “Death to the Left” and “Death to the Arabs”, while others shared responsibility for the crime with Ben-Gvir, who had recently provoked repeated actions.

This is one of the reasons why Prime Minister Netanyahu called on people to keep calm. “I urge people not to take the law into their own hands. We have the army, the police and the security forces to do that,” he said.

Demand for more citizens with guns

how ARD correspondent Sophie von der Tann reports that troops have already been reinforced in the West Bank and along the barriers separating Israel and the West Bank. “The far-right new Minister for National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, was at the scene yesterday and again demanded that more citizens should be able to carry guns to protect themselves from such attacks.”

How the population feels about such proposals depends very much on who you ask. This requirement has often existed, more often in extreme situations. “It often happened that armed people were able to stop perpetrators during such attacks,” von der Tann said tagesschau24.

The ultra-right government under Netanyahu is in conflict for a tough course, explained von der Tann. She defines herself through security and is now under pressure to a certain extent. “The situation in the West Bank is very tense. The Israeli military has been conducting operations there for months. There are battles and many deaths,” she reports. At the same time, the Palestinian Authority is losing control. “More radical groups are gaining influence, especially among young Palestinians who see no prospects for themselves, become radicalized and become violent.”

Scholz “deeply” shaken after the attack

Internationally, politicians and heads of state expressed their condolences after the attack and pledged their support to Israel. “I am deeply shocked by the news of the terrible attacks in Jerusalem,” said Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Twitter. “There have been dead and injured in the heart of Israel. My thoughts are with the victims and their families – Germany stands by Israel’s side.”

The Federal Foreign Office was concerned about a possible further escalation. “The spiral of violence, which has already claimed too many victims on both sides this year, must not continue,” said a spokeswoman. “More than ever, there is a need for cooperation and dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian authorities to cut the rug out of terror.”

Extraordinary criticism from Saudi Arabia

After a phone call with Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden spoke of an “attack on the civilized world”. The US would stand “solid as a rock” on Israel’s side. Biden pledged all appropriate means of support to the Israeli prime minister. A spokesman for the US State Department confirmed that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would go ahead with his Middle East trip as planned despite the attack. Blinken will speak to the Israeli government on Monday and is scheduled to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday.

In a rare move, Saudi Arabia also responded to the terrorist attack. “The Kingdom condemns all attacks on civilians,” the Foreign Ministry said. At the same time, the influential Gulf state, which has no diplomatic ties with Israel, warned that the situation between Palestinians and Israelis could slide into another serious escalation. Saudi Arabia has often commented on the situation of the Palestinians in the past, but not on terrorism aimed at Israelis.

Celebrations in the Gaza Strip and West Bank

In several places in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the population reacted to yesterday’s attack with celebrations. In Ramallah in the West Bank, for example, a large crowd gathered and waved Palestinian flags, the AFP news agency reported. According to the AP news agency, sweets were sometimes distributed in the Gaza Strip to celebrate the crime.

“It also happened in the past after attacks, so it’s not unusual, it happens again and again,” said ARD correspondent from the tann to the scenes. Arab-Israeli Member of the Knesset Mansour Abbas condemned the attacks.

Hamas claims responsibility for the attack

The radical Islamist Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, claimed responsibility for the attack. It was a “retaliatory strike for the Israeli army’s attack on the Jenin refugee camp.” On Thursday were in Jenin in the northern West Bank nine Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli military operation, including an elderly woman. Several of those killed are said to have belonged to the militant Palestinian organization “Islamic Jihad”.

As a result of the deadly raid, violent riots broke out in the West Bank. Two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip on Friday night but were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. Israel responded with airstrikes on targets in the Gaza Strip.

With information from Julio Segador, ARD Studio Tel Aviv

source site