On Saturday, a Palestinian gunman opened fire in east Jerusalem, injuring at least two people less than a day after another attacker killed seven outside a synagogue there in the city’s bloodiest attack since 2008.
At least two males, aged 23 and 47, sustained upper-body injuries in the gunshot near Jerusalem’s historic Old City, according to paramedics. In the hospital, they were completely conscious and in moderate to critical condition, according to the doctors. There was no immediate news on the attacker’s condition.
It represented the latest major escalation in one of Israel and the occupied West Bank’s worst months in recent years. A Palestinian shooter killed at least seven people, including a 70-year-old lady, outside a synagogue in east Jerusalem on Friday.
Following the attack near the synagogue, Israeli authorities began a security crackdown early Saturday morning.
They arrested 42 family members, neighbors, and others close to the gunman in the attacker’s neighborhood of At-Tur in east Jerusalem. According to the remarks, Police Chief Kobi Shabtai bolstered security troops and ordered officers to work 12-hour shifts, asking the public to phone a hotline if they observe anything odd.
The earlier strike on Friday, which occurred while locals were enjoying the Jewish sabbath, occurred a day after an Israeli military incursion in the West Bank murdered nine Palestinians. The incident on Friday sparked celebrations in both the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, where people shot weapons into the air, honked horns, and distributed candy.
The outbreak of violence, which includes a rocket assault from Gaza and retaliatory Israeli airstrikes, has presented an early challenge for Israel’s new administration, which is dominated by ultranationalists who have advocated for a tough stance against Palestinian militancy. It also put a shadow over Sunday’s visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters at the headquarters of Israel’s national police that he had conducted a security assessment and decided on “immediate actions.” He stated that he would convene his Security Cabinet on Saturday evening, following the conclusion of the Sabbath, to deliberate future action.
Netanyahu declined to elaborate, but stated that Israel would act with “resolve and composure.” He urged the populace not to take matters into their own hands.
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