On Friday, January 27, an armed man fired gunshots near a synagogue in Neve Yaakov, East Jerusalem, during the Shabbat prayers and killed at least 7 people, and injured 3 others before being killed by the Israeli police, according to the police. Kobi Shabtai, the Israeli police chief said on Israeli TV: “[It is] one of the worst terror attacks in the past few years.
According to Magen David Adom, Israel's national emergency medical service, 10 people were shot and 5 people died at the scene, four men and a woman. 5 more people were taken to the hospital where 2 died of their wounds.
Regarding what happened, Kobi Shabtai said: “ [The terrorist] started shooting at anyone that was in his way. He got in his car and started a killing spree with a pistol at short range.” He added: “The terrorist was neutralized by a police officer and a volunteer of the Israel Police, they prevented a larger attack and neutralized the terrorist.” Furthermore, according to the Jerusalem District Police Commander, Doron Turgeman, the terrorist was a 21-year-old Palestinian living in Beit Hanina, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem. It appears the killer orchestrated the deadly attack alone, stated a police release.
The synagogue attack happens a day after an Israeli military operation killed 9 Palestinians and injured many others in the West Bank of Jenin, in the North of Cisjordania. This operation is one of the deadliest since 2005, according to the United Nations. However, Hamas and Islamic Jihad spokespersons applauded the attack as “a heroic action in revenge for the Jenin massacre.”
Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres condemned the synagogue attack, according to his spokesman. A statement said: “It is particularly abhorrent that the attack occurred at a place of worship, and on the very day we commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day.”
Furthermore, politics around the world also condemned this attack. The United States President, Joe Biden called the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to lend US support to Israel. A readout of the call stated: “The president made clear that this was an attack against the civilized world.” The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs statement said: “This attack against civilians, at the time of prayer, and on the day of the international commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust, is particularly despicable.” Moreover, the United Kingdom Foreign Minister, James Cleverly, condemned the attack on Twitter: “To attack worshippers at a synagogue on Holocaust Memorial Day, and during Shabbat, is horrific. We stand with our Israeli friends.”
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