At the scene of a likely shooting outside Jerusalem’s Old City, January 28, 2023. AMMAR AWAD/ Portal
Less than 24 hours after the deadly attack near a synagogue in east Jerusalem, a fresh shootout wounded two, a father and his son, on Saturday, January 28, near Jerusalem’s Old City, according to Israeli aid. The shooter was a 13-year-old Palestinian, Israeli police said in a statement.
The attack was perpetrated on the archaeological site of the City of David in the Palestinian district of Silwan, on the outskirts of the Old City. “A 23-year-old man [est] in serious condition and another 47-year-old in moderate to serious condition with gunshot wounds to the upper body,” said a spokesman for Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s Red Cross equivalent.
According to the police, the attacker from the part of the Holy City occupied and annexed by Israel was “neutralized and injured”.
Earlier, the Israeli police announced that 42 people were arrested for questioning after the shooting that killed seven people on Friday evening. Among them, “some belong to the terrorist’s family,” others live in his neighborhood in East Jerusalem. In a separate statement, the police announced that Israel Defense Forces had been placed on “high alert”.
On Friday night, a 21-year-old Palestinian man opened fire while praying on Shabbat near a synagogue in East Jerusalem before being shot dead after a chase.
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“One of the worst attacks” since 2008
The shooting occurred in Neve Yaakov, a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, part of the Holy City annexed by Israel. Police Chief Kobi Shabtai spoke of “one of the worst attacks” that Israel has suffered in recent years. According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the shooting is the deadliest for Israelis since 2008, when eight people were killed in an attack on a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem.
After Friday night’s attack, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu promised “immediate action” without further details, urging Israelis not to take justice into their own hands but to rely on the army and police.
The shooting came a day after an Israeli army raid in Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank that killed nine Palestinians. In the Gaza Strip, Hamas spokesman Hazem Kassem said Friday’s attack was “revenge and a natural response” to Thursday’s killing of nine Palestinians in Jenin.
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