January 29, 2023

ISRAEL: Palestinian Mass Shooter Opened Fire Outside An East Jerusalem Synagogue On January 27th. 7 Killed, Several Injured. Israel's Security To Speed Up Gun Applications After Attacks.

BBC News published January 28, 2023: Israel arrests 42 after deadly Jerusalem synagogue shooting.

Israeli police have arrested 42 people in connection with a deadly shooting at a synagogue in East Jerusalem on Friday.

Seven people were killed, and at least three more injured, in the deadliest attack of its kind in years.

Two people were also injured on Saturday in a separate attack outside the Old City.

Israeli police said the gunman in Saturday's attack was a 13-year-old boy.

They said he had been "neutralised", but did not give further details.
DW News published January 27, 2023: Israeli police: Palestinian gunman shoots several Israelis in Jerusalem.

Israeli officials say seven people have been killed after a Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an East Jerusalem synagogue. Several others have been wounded and are in critical condition. The shooting took place in the Jewish neighborhood of Neve Yaakov. Police said the perpetrator was identified as a 21-year-old resident of East Jerusalem who was acting alone.

DW News, Germany
written by DW staff and AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa news sources
Friday January 27, 2023

Israeli police say a Palestinian gunman killed seven people and injured three others in a shooting outside a synagogue in Jerusalem on Friday.

Israeli officials said a Palestinian gunman opened fire outside a synagogue in East Jerusalem on Friday, killing seven people and wounding three others before he was shot and killed by the police.

The attack is being described by Israeli police as "a terrorist incident." Israeli police commissioner Yaakov Shabtai said the shooting was "one of the worst attacks we have encountered in recent years."

The attack comes amid escalating tensions between Israel and the Palestinian territories. A day earlier, nine Palestinians — including at least seven militants and an elderly woman — were killed in an Israeli military operation in the city of Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.

What do we know about the shooting?

Israeli police and medics said the shooting occurred outside a synagogue in Neve Yaakov, East Jerusalem, where worshippers gathered for the Sabbath on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Authorities said the gunman fled in a car after opening fire, and that the police chased him. Following an exchange of fire, the attacker was "neutralized," police said.

The perpetrator was identified as a 21-year-old resident of East Jerusalem who was acting alone, as per preliminary investigation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who paid a visit to the scene of the shooting, told reporters that his security cabinet would announce "immediate measures" soon in response to the attack.

Netanyahu called on the Israeli public not to take the law into their own hands.

What have the reactions been like?

The US State Department has condemned the attack as "absolutely horrific."

"We condemn this apparent terrorist attack in the strongest terms," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters. "Our commitment to Israel's security remains ironclad, and we are in direct touch with our Israeli partners."

US President Joe Biden asked his national security team to offer support in "assisting the wounded and bringing the perpetrators of this horrible crime to justice," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

The attack came ahead of a planned visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel and the West Bank on Sunday.

CIA director William Burns is also currently visiting Israel and the West Bank on a trip arranged before the latest violence.

Reuters news agency cited Palestinian officials as saying that Burns would meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday. But no comment was immediately available from US officials.

Germany's ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, has condemned the attack and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

"Deeply saddened by reports of a Palestinian gunman killing worshippers near a synagogue in Neve Yaakov — an evil terrorist act against Jews on Holocaust Remembrance Day. My heart goes out to the families of the murdered victims and I pray for the health of the injured," he wrote on Twitter.

The United Arab Emirates also condemned the synagogue attack, the state news agency (WAM) reported, citing a Foreign Ministry statement.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres the attack was "particularly abhorrent" because it occurred at a place of worship and on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

In a statement released by his spokesman Stephane Dujarric, Guterres said he was "deeply worried about the current escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory."
BBC News published January 29, 2023: Israel proposes looser gun rules after Jerusalem shootings.

Israel's security cabinet has approved measures to make it easier for Israelis to carry guns after two separate attacks by Palestinians in Jerusalem over the past two days.

The attacks took place after an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank killed nine people.

The new measures also include depriving an attacker's family members of residency and social security rights.

The full cabinet is due to consider the measures on Sunday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised a "strong" and "swift" response ahead of the security cabinet meeting.

BBC News, UK
written by Staff
Saturday January 28, 2023

Israel's security cabinet has approved measures to make it easier for Israelis to carry guns after two separate attacks by Palestinians in Jerusalem over the past two days.

The attacks took place after an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank killed nine people.

The new measures also include depriving an attacker's family members of residency and social security rights.

The full cabinet is due to consider the measures on Sunday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised a "strong" and "swift" response ahead of the security cabinet meeting.

Israel's army also said it would be reinforcing troop numbers in the occupied West Bank.

"When civilians have guns, they can defend themselves," the controversial far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, told reporters outside a Jerusalem hospital.

The measures will revoke the rights to social security of "the families of terrorists that support terrorism", the security cabinet said.

The proposals are in step with proposals from Mr Netanyahu's far-right political allies, who allowed him to return to power last month.

The announcement came after Israeli police said a 13-year-old Palestinian boy was behind a shooting in Jerusalem's Silwan neighbourhood on Saturday that left an Israeli father and son seriously wounded.

An Israeli police force spokesperson previously said the assailant ambushed five people as they made their way to prayers, leaving two in a "critical condition". The 13-year-old was shot and injured by passers-by and is being held in hospital.

In a separate shooting on Friday at a synagogue in East Jerusalem, seven people were killed and at least three more injured as they gathered for prayers at the start of the Jewish Sabbath. The gunman was shot dead at the scene.

The man behind Friday's synagogue attack was identified by local media as a Palestinian from East Jerusalem.

Police have arrested 42 people in connection with that attack.

Israeli police commissioner Kobi Shabtai called it "one of the worst attacks we have encountered in recent years".

Palestinian militant groups praised the attack, but did not say one of their members was responsible.

Mr Netanyahu called for calm and urged citizens to allow security forces to carry out their tasks, while the military said additional troops would be deployed in the occupied West Bank.

"I call again on all Israelis - don't take the law into your hands," Mr Netanyahu said. He thanked several world leaders - including US President Joe Biden - for their support.

Tensions have been high since nine Palestinians - both militants and civilians - were killed during an Israeli military raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.

This was followed by rocket fire into Israel from Gaza, which Israel responded to with air strikes.

Since the start of January, 30 Palestinians - both militants and civilians - have been killed in the West Bank.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suspended its security co-operation arrangements with Israel after Thursday's raid in Jenin.

Friday's synagogue shooting happened on Holocaust Memorial Day, which commemorates the six million Jews and other victims who were killed in the Holocaust by the Nazi regime in Germany.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack, saying that one of the victims was a Ukrainian woman.

"Terror must have no place in today's world - neither in Israel nor Ukraine," he said in a tweet.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly wrote on Twitter: "To attack worshippers at a synagogue on Holocaust Memorial Day, and during Shabbat, is horrific. We stand with our Israeli friends."

President Joe Biden talked to Mr Netanyahu and offered all "appropriate means of support", the White House said.

Shortly after the incident, Mr Netanyahu visited the site, as did Mr Ben-Gvir.

The controversial national security minister promised to bring safety back to Israel's streets, but there is rising anger that he has not yet done so, the BBC's Yolande Knell in Jerusalem said.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "deeply worried about the current escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory", a spokesperson said.

"This is the moment to exercise utmost restraint," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

On Saturday, the European Union expressed alarm at heightened tensions and urged Israel to use lethal force only as a last resort.

"The European Union fully recognises Israel's legitimate security concerns - as evidenced by the latest terrorist attacks - but it has to be stressed that lethal force must only be used as a last resort when it is strictly unavoidable in order to protect life," said the EU's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell.

Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since the 1967 Middle East war and considers the entire city its capital, though this is not recognised by the vast majority of the international community.

Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the future capital of a hoped-for independent state.

🚨👇 RELATED NEWS 👇🚨

NBC News published January 28, 2023: Israeli police say 13-year-old Palestinian boy shot Israeli father and son.

Video shows the moment an armed Israeli citizen fired back at the attacker, who is now in the hospital. The incident comes one day after a terror attack at a synagogue where 7 Israelis were gunned down as they were leaving a prayer service on the Jewish Sabbath.

No comments: