Palestinian kills 7 Israelis outside E. Jerusalem synanogue

W300

A Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an east Jerusalem synagogue Friday night, killing seven Israelis and wounding three others in one of the deadliest attacks on Israelis in years, medical officials said. The attack was halted when the gunman was shot by Israeli police.

The killings took place a day after Israeli troops killed nine Palestinians in a raid in the West Bank and raised the likelihood of further bloodshed.

The violence posed a challenge for Israel's new hard-line government and cast a cloud over a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the region Sunday. He is likely to discuss the underlying causes of the conflict that continue to fester, the agenda of Israel's new far-right government and the Palestinian Authority's decision to halt security coordination with Israel in retaliation for the deadly raid.

Israeli police said the gunman was "neutralized," a term that typically means he was killed. There was no official confirmation, however.

At several locations across the Gaza Strip, dozens of Palestinians gathered in spontaneous demonstrations to celebrate the Jerusalem attack, with some coming out of dessert shops with large trays of sweets to distribute. Similar celebrations were reported in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

The attack came amid heightened tensions. Palestinians marched in anger Friday as they buried the last of 10 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire a day earlier.

Scuffles between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters erupted after the funeral for a 22-year-old Palestinian north of Jerusalem and elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, but calm prevailed in the contested capital and in the blockaded Gaza Strip for most of the day.

Thursday's raid in the flashpoint Jenin refugee camp descended into a gunbattle that killed at least nine Palestinians, while clashes elsewhere left a 10th dead. Gaza militants then fired rockets and Israel carried out airstrikes overnight — but the exchange was limited.

The Biden administration has been deeply engaged with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in recent days, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, underscoring the "urgent need here for all parties to deescalate to prevent the further loss of civilian life and to work together to improve the security situation in the West Bank."

"We're certainly deeply concerned by this escalating cycle of violence in the West Bank as well as the rockets that have been apparently fired from Gaza," Kirby said. "And of course, we condemn all acts that only further escalate tensions."

Israel's defense minister, meanwhile, instructed the military to prepare for new strikes in the Gaza Strip "if necessary" — also appearing to leave open the possibility that violence would subside.

While residents of Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank remained on edge earlier Friday, midday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, often a catalyst for clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police, passed in relative calm.

At the funeral of the 22-year-old, crowds of Palestinians waved the flags of both Fatah, the party that controls the Palestinian Authority, and militant Hamas, which rules Gaza. In the streets of the town called al-Ram, masked Palestinians threw stones and set off fireworks at Israeli police, who responded with tear gas.

But both the Palestinian rockets and Israeli airstrikes seemed limited so as to prevent growing into a full-blown war. Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and several smaller skirmishes since the militant group seized power in Gaza from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.

Friday night's shooting, which came on the Jewish sabbath, immediately changed the equation.

Israel's opposition leader, former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, called it "horrific and heartbreaking."

Comments 7
Missing gabriel01 1 year

Only weak and disgusting people kill human beings while they are praying. We know where the killer is headed now for eternity.

Thumb i.report 1 year

Do ukranians nazis spare Russian Orthodox churches and schools? of course not!
Do Zionists spare Muslims praying at al Aqsa? of course not!

We're not going to weep for 7 dead terrorists and apprentice terrorists.

Missing phillipo 1 year

Just how many Moslems have been killed or wounded whilst praying in Al-Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount? Answer - None.
By the way, just how many Orthodox churches and school have been destroyed in the Russian attacks on Ukraine? Answer - Once again none.
"We're not going to weep for 7 dead terrorists and apprentice terrorists." Of course you are, you did it last week about Jenin.

Missing gabriel01 1 year

Poor ireport, comparing apples and oranges. You should definitely write less and educate yourself more. Clearly an iranian stooge. Good luck

Thumb i.report 1 year

Gabriel01 is accusing others of being uneducated, which IMHO is a sign of psychological projection. Projection is a defense mechanism in which an individual attributes their own undesirable thoughts, feelings, or impulses onto someone else. In this case, Gabriel01 is projecting his own insecurities or lack of education onto others.

Gabriel01 may be aware that he does not have a lot of formal education, and may feel insecure about it. To cope with these insecurities, he unconsciously projects his lack of education onto others and accuse them of being uneducated. (。•́︿•̀。)

It's important for Gaby01 to seek help and guidance from a mental health professional to understand and work through his insecurities, so please help him in any way you can.

Missing gabriel01 1 year

Loooooool. I am a judge in a Western country with a Masters degree and speak 6 languages, including arabic, my mother tongue. Your hatred of the Jews shows who you really are my uneducated and clearly deranged individual. You are clearly not Christian because the Lord Jesus taught us to love even our enemies. You're just a disgusting semblance of a human being. Sorry if I don't answer you anymore. You're clearly a waste of time and of oxygen. Good luck

Thumb i.report 1 year

you're embarassing yourself grabriel01, friendly advice, SEEK HELP!