Israeli policemen secure a shooting attack site in east Jerusalem. Photo / AP
Israeli policemen secure a shooting attack site in east Jerusalem. Photo / AP
A 13-year-old Palestinian gunman shot two people in east Jerusalem yesterday, a day after the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians in a decade.
The shooting in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan badly wounded a father, 47, and his 23-year-old son, according to Israel’s ambulance service.
Security footage showed the victims to be observant Jews, wearing skullcaps and tzitzit, or knotted ritual tassels.
Before police arrived, two people carrying licensed weapons shot and overpowered the teenage gunman. A police spokesman described the shooting as a “terrorist attack” and said the assailant “was neutralised”. The shooting came a day after a Palestinian killed seven Israelis on Friday night, and two days after a deadly raid by the Israeli military on the Jenin refugee camp.
The mounting violence - on the eve of the arrival of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the region - has raised fears of a new escalation in the long-running conflict.
Following Friday’s attack, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, promised a swift response, scheduling a meeting of his Security Cabinet after the end of the Sabbath yesterday.
It is expected to consider further military reinforcement in the West Bank, making it easier for Israeli citizens to carry weapons, and a range of punitive measures, including demolishing the homes of terrorist attackers.
After visiting the scene of Friday’s attack near a synagogue on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Netanyahu called for “determination and composure”, while calling on people not to take the law into their own hands.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. Photo / AP
Regional players are watching the situation with concern, with Saudi Arabia warning of the need to limit escalation.
“The kingdom condemns targeting civilians, stressing the necessity of stopping the escalation, reviving the peace process and ending the occupation,” the foreign ministry said.
Yesterday morning, Jewish residents gathered at the scene of Friday’s shooting in Neve Yaakov and wept as they recounted a night of blood and horror.
“I was having Shabbat dinner. I heard shooting, and first I thought it was Palestinian neighbours shooting [celebratory gunfire] next to us,” said Shimon Israel, 45, an Israeli army veteran. “I saw a mess, I saw a guy shooting at the corner of the synagogue, and there were already bodies in the streets. My neighbour ran out to the guy, and he shot him. His wife came running after him and gave CPR. He came and shot at her. The shooter aimed his gun up - I crawled on the floor and he shot the window.”
Four victims of Friday’s attack have been identified: married couple Eli and Natali Mizrahi, aged 48 and 45 respectively, Rafael Ben-Eliyahu, 56, and Asher Natan, 14.
At least two other people were wounded, including a 60-year-old woman who remained in Hadassah’s Mount Scopus Hospital in a moderate condition. A 24-year-old remained sedated on a ventilator.
Israeli police killed the gunman following a brief chase after the shooting.
He was identified as Khairi Alqam, a 21-year-old resident of east Jerusalem.
His father, Moussa Alqam, said his son had been an ordinary person with no militant ties.
“He is neither the first nor the last young man to get martyred, and what he did is a source of pride,” he said.
Following the attack, Israel’s military said it was boosting its presence in the West Bank with an additional battalion.
Meanwhile, Israel’s police force was placed on the “highest level” of alert.
Police said they had arrested 42 people for questioning, “some of them members of the terrorist’s family”.
Police said others detained included residents of the gunman’s neighbourhood, where footage showed Palestinians dancing and cheering in celebration of the shooting.
Tensions were already near boiling point in the West Bank, following an Israeli military raid on the refugee camp of Jenin in the West Bank. An elderly woman was among nine people killed in the raid, which Israel said targeted Islamic Jihad militants plotting an attack on Israelis.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his condolences and said a Ukrainian citizen was among the dead.
“We share Israel’s pain after the terrorist attacks in Jerusalem,” he wrote on Twitter. “Terror must have no place in today’s world. Neither in Israel nor in Ukraine.”
