Palestinian gunman kills 7, sparking exchange of rockets
A Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an East Jerusalem synagogue Friday night, killing seven people, including a 70year-old woman, and wounding three others before he was shot and killed by police, officials said. It was the deadliest attack on Israelis in years and raised the likelihood of more bloodshed.
The attack on worshippers celebrating the Jewish Sabbath came a day after an Israeli military raid killed nine people in the West Bank. The new attack set off celebrations in both the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, where people fired guns into the air, honked horns and distributed sweets.
The burst of violence, which also included a rocket barrage from Gaza and retaliatory Israeli airstrikes, has posed an early challenge for Israel’s new government, which is dominated by ultranationalists who have pushed for a hard line against Palestinian violence. It also cast a cloud over a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the region Sunday.
Addressing reporters at Israel’s national police headquarters, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had held a security assessment and decided on “immediate actions.” He said he would convene his Security Cabinet on Saturday night, after the end of the Sabbath, to discuss a further response.
Netanyahu declined to elaborate but said Israel would act with “determination and composure.” He called on the public not to take take the law into their own hands.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the U.S. strongly condemned the attack and was “shocked and saddened by the lose of life,” noting it came on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. “The United States will extend our full support to the government and people of Israel,” she said.
Israeli police said the shootings occurred in Neve Yaakov, a religious neighbourhood in East Jerusalem with a large ultra Orthodox population, and that the gunman fled in a car after opening fire. Police said they chased after him and after an exchange of fire, killed him.
Jerusalem police Chief Doron Turjeman confirmed seven deaths, in addition to the shooter, and said three people were wounded. Police identified the attacker as a 21-yearold East Jerusalem resident who apparently acted alone.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant huddled with Israel’s military chief and other top security officials and instructed them to assist police and strengthen defences near Jerusalem and for Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
“Israel’s defence establishment will operate decisively and forcefully against terror and will reach anyone involved in the attack,” Gallant said. The bloodshed was the deadliest on Israelis since a 2008 shooting killed eight in a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem, according to the Foreign Ministry. Given the location and timing, it threatened to trigger a tough response from Israel.
Overnight Thursday, Gaza militants fired a barrage of rockets into southern Israel, with all of them either intercepted or landing in open areas. Israel responded with airstrikes on targets in Gaza. No casualties were reported and calm appeared to be taking hold before Friday night’s shooting.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the shooting. In Gaza, Hazem Qassem, spokesperson for the ruling Hamas militant group, said the attack was “a revenge and natural response” to the killing of nine Palestinians in Jenin on Thursday.
Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem last year. Last year, 30 people were killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis.