© Reuters. Israelis talk near the scene of a gun attack that happened the night before, in Neve Yaacov, located on occupied land that Israel annexed?Jerusalem?After the 1967 Middle East war, May 28 January 2023. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
By Maayan Lubell
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A possible gun attack injured two people in Jerusalem on Saturday, as the Israeli military said it was strengthening its forces in the occupied West Bank after a gunman Palestinians shot dead seven people near a synagogue on the outskirts of the city.
Friday night’s shooting comes a day after Israel’s deadliest raid in the West Bank in years and a cross-border gun battle between Israel and Gaza that has raised fears of a bloodshed.
On Saturday, the Israeli ambulance service said two people were injured in another gun attack.
Israeli police said the gunman in Friday’s attack, a 21-year-old Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem, appeared to have acted alone in carrying out the attack in the area that Israel annexed to Jerusalem after the war. Middle East war in 1967.
It said he tried to flee by car but was chased and shot dead by police. Police say 42 suspects, including members of the gunman’s family, have been arrested and authorities are on highest alert.
The attack underscored concerns about an escalation of violence after months of clashes in the West Bank, culminating in a raid in Jenin on Thursday that left at least nine Palestinians dead.
“After assessing the situation of the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces), it has been decided to add one more battalion to the Judea and Samaria (West Bank) Divisions,” the military said.
The outbreak of violence was the first major confrontation since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office last month under the leadership of a government comprised of hardline nationalist parties.
After an assessment with the security services, Mr. Netanyahu urged people not to arbitrarily apply the law but said measures had been decided and the cabinet would meet on Saturday.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited the site of the attack, where he was greeted with cheers and fury. “The government has to respond, God willing, this is what will happen,” he told a waiting crowd.
condemn
Friday’s shooting, which occurred on International Holocaust Remembrance Day and on the Jewish Sabbath, was condemned by the White House and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who expressed concern about the violence. current escalation and calls for “extreme restraint”. It comes days before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned visit to Israel and the West Bank.
Jordan and Egypt, Arab nations that have signed a peace treaty with Israel, condemned the attack as did the United Arab Emirates, one of several Arab nations to have normalized relations. with Israel just over two years ago.
The Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah praised the attack and a spokesman for the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas hailed it as “a response to the crimes committed by the occupation of Jenin and a natural response to with the criminal act of occupation”.
The smaller Islamic Jihad militant group also praised the attack without claiming responsibility.
Illustrating the possibility of further escalation, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Friday three Palestinians were taken to hospital after being shot by an Israeli settler in an incident near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
SCENE IN SYNAGOGUE
Police said the gunman in Jerusalem arrived at 8:15 p.m. and opened fire with a pistol, hitting several people before being killed by police. “We got to the scene extremely quickly and it was horrible. The injured were lying on the road,” said Shimon Alfasi from the Israeli ambulance service.
Earlier on Friday, militants in Gaza fired rockets at Israel, causing no casualties but leading to Israeli jet strikes, which hit targets in the coastal strip blockaded by Hamas. control.
Violence in the West Bank increased after a series of deadly attacks in Israel last year. The latest season of violence began under the previous coalition government and continues under Mr. Netanyahu’s right-wing government, which includes parties that want to expand settlements in the West Bank.
Before Friday’s shooting, at least 30 Palestinians had been killed this year, and the Palestinian Authority, which has limited powers in the West Bank, said it was suspending a security cooperation agreement with Israel.
