Seven killed in shooting outside Jewish synagogue in Jerusalem

Seven killed in shooting outside Jewish synagogue in Jerusalem

 

 

A Palestinian opened fire outside a Jewish synagogue in East Jerusalem on Friday, killing seven people and wounding three, Israeli police said.

 

 

A Palestinian gunman opened fire outside a Jewish synagogue in East Jerusalem on Friday, killing seven people and wounding three, Israeli officials said. Later, the police also shot and killed the assailant.

 

 

Israel’s police commissioner, Kobi Shabtai, said the shooting was “one of the worst attacks we have faced in recent years.”

 

 The latest attack comes amid heightened tensions between Israel and the Palestinians. A day before this incident, nine Palestinians, including seven militants and an elderly woman, were killed during an operation by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

What else do we know about this shooting?

 

Israeli police and medical experts said the shooting happened outside a synagogue in the East Jerusalem suburb of Neve Yaakov, where worshipers had gathered to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

 

Officials said that after firing, the gunman was trying to escape in a car, but the police chased him. The police said that during the exchange of fire, the attacker was also ‘killed’.

 

According to the preliminary investigation, the perpetrator has been identified as a 21-year-old man from East Jerusalem, who acted alone.

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the site of the shooting and told reporters that “immediate steps” would be announced on the government’s response to the attack after a cabinet meeting on security. .

 

Netanyahu also told the Israeli people not to take the law into their own hands

How has the response been?

 

The US State Department immediately condemned the attack, calling it “absolutely horrific”. “We condemn this apparent terrorist attack in the strongest possible terms,” ​​State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters. “We remain firmly committed to Israel’s security and are in direct contact with our Israeli partners.”

 

White House Press Secretary Kerryon Jean-Pierre said US President Joe Biden had asked his national security team to “assist the injured and bring those responsible for this heinous crime to justice.” ‘

 

 US Secretary of State Anthony Blanken is scheduled to visit Israel and the West Bank on Sunday, January 29, and thus the attack comes just before his visit. CIA director William Burns is currently visiting Israel and the West Bank.

 

The Reuters news agency reported with reference to Palestinian officials that Burns is scheduled to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday. But there was no immediate statement from the American authorities regarding this meeting.

 

Germany’s ambassador to Israel, Stefan Seibert, has also condemned the attack and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

 

He wrote in one of his tweets, “Deeply saddened by the news of a Palestinian gunman killing worshipers near a Jewish synagogue in Neve Yaakov. This is an evil act of terrorism against Jews on Holocaust Remembrance Day. My heart goes out to the families of the victims and I pray for the recovery of the injured.”

 

The United Arab Emirates has also condemned the attack on the synagogue. The State News Agency (WAM) reported this with reference to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also strongly condemned the attack, saying it was “particularly despicable” as it took place near a synagogue on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. He said in a statement issued by a spokesman that he was “deeply concerned by the recent escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.”