After the alleged attacks in Jerusalem, concerns about a spiral of violence in the Middle East are growing abroad. In a reaction, UN Secretary-General António Gutteres expressed concern about the situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories and called for “extreme restraint”. “The spiral of violence, which has already claimed too many victims on both sides this year, must not continue,” said a spokeswoman for the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. “More than ever, there is a need for cooperation and dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian authorities to cut the rug out of terror.”
A man fired at people leaving a synagogue after Shabbat prayers in east Jerusalem on Friday evening. Seven people died and others were injured; the attacker was shot dead by the police after a short time. The Israeli army chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, then ordered the forces in the occupied West Bank and along the Israeli separation barrier to be reinforced and to prepare for a possible escalation of the situation. A second attack followed in Jerusalem on Saturday morning, in which an apparently 13-year-old injured two people.
In an emergency session, the UN Security Council unanimously condemned the attack in the evening. The fact that it took place on International Holocaust Remembrance Day was “particularly despicable,” said General Secretary Gutteres. The Foreign Office spoke of a “crime that cannot be justified by anything”.
The US stressed its solidarity with its close ally Israel. President Joe Biden offered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “all reasonable means of support” in a telephone call, the White House said. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is scheduled to travel to Israel and Jordan shortly, said the US reiterated its “unwavering commitment to Israel’s security.” Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who expressed himself in a tweet “Deeply” shaken showed: “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.”
Radical Islamists are celebrating the act, and the Arab government is calling for an end to the violence
In Israel itself, Prime Minister Netanyahu warned people “not to take the law into their own hands.” He announced a meeting of the security cabinet for Saturday evening. During a visit to the site of the attack, the new and controversial Minister for National Security, the far-right Itamar Ben-Gvir, called for an overhaul of the Israeli gun laws. More citizens should have the ability to carry guns to protect themselves from attacks, he said, according to media reports.
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir at the scene of the attack on Friday.
(Photo: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)
The radical Islamic Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, celebrated the attacker and his attack, and the radical Islamic Jihad group and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia also welcomed the attack. In Gaza, people celebrated in the streets and shot in the air, in the West Bank cars honked and fireworks were set off. Hamas saw the attack as retaliation for the actions of the Israeli army in the city of Jenin on Thursday, where nine Palestinians were killed and 20 others injured in clashes with Israeli soldiers. There had not been so many fatalities in such an operation for years. Like the daily newspaper hairnet reported that two Israelis shot at Palestinians near the town of Beita in the West Bank on Saturday night after they had thrown stones. According to Palestinian sources, three people were injured.
The Foreign Ministry of the United Arab Emirates, on the other hand, issued a statement “strongly condemning the criminal act”. All forms of violence and terrorism aimed at “undermining security and stability and violating human values and principles” should be rejected. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry called for an end to the escalation of violence. Otherwise, it threatens to “develop into a cycle of violence” for which “everyone pays the price,” according to a report by the Jordanian state news agency Petra, in a statement.