Seven Israelis were murdered in a shooting attack last night (Friday) at a synagogue in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood in Jerusalem.
Three more injured were evacuated to the Hadassah Ein Kerem and Shaare Zedek hospitals in the city. Among them, a 15-year-old boy is in a moderate-severe condition.
The terrorist Alkam Khairi, a resident of A-Tor in East Jerusalem, was neutralized – his weapon was found on the spot. The police announced an increase in alertness in the capital, and the IDF is preparing for an escalation – forces will be increased in the Judea and Samaria Division.
A preliminary investigation shows that the terrorist arrived at the scene in a vehicle, opened fire in a synagogue, and fled in the vehicle he arrived with. From there he continued driving towards Beit Hanina. After that, he recognized two policemen who were at a makeshift roadblock, he got out of his vehicle, pulled out a gun and started shooting at them. The two realized that they were in the middle of an attack, had a shootout with him and managed to overcome him. The encounter was over in less than 5 minutes. So, the police began to deploy perimeter security and search for another helper.
The terrorist, 21 years old, has no previous security background and has a blue ID card. According to the police, he acted alone and went on an indiscriminate killing spree.
Five victims were pronounced dead at the scene, including four men aged 60, 50, 25 and 20 and a woman aged 60. Five injured were taken to the hospitals, including a man aged 30 and a woman aged 70 in critical condition, later the medical teams had to pronounce them dead. Three wounded are hospitalized in the medical centers, a man and a woman in moderate condition and a boy in moderate-severe condition.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gabir and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai arrived at the scene of the attack and assessed the situation. Residents of the neighborhood surrounded Ben Gabir and shouted at him: “Death to the terrorists.” Later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also arrived at the scene.
Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said: “This is one of the worst attacks we have encountered in recent years. The terrorist came to shoot everything in his path. He went on a killing spree with a gun and shot everyone he came across. People who came to check and see what happened were also shot. After that, he got into the car and drove away about 300 meters. A police team that was at the intersection arrived, shot him back and neutralized him.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a statement to the media from the police headquarters in Jerusalem: “This is one of the worst attacks we have known in recent years. Our hearts go out to the families of the murdered, we wish for the speedy recovery of the injured. I want to praise the activity of the police, who arrived within minutes. Even minutes are sometimes too late I convened a situation assessment with all the security forces, at the end of Shabbat the cabinet came in. We need to act decisively and calmly. I urge people not to take the law into their own hands, for this purpose we have the security forces. We have already decided on some immediate steps.”
Defense Minister Yoav Galant held a special situation assessment with the participation of Chief of Staff Hartzi Halevi, Shin Bet chief Ronan Bar and other senior officials. He directed the security establishment to prepare for the possibility of further developments on the ground, to assist the Israel Police and its forces as much as necessary and to increase efforts to protect the settlements and roads in Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem.
Superintendent Doron Turgeman, commander of the Jerusalem District, described the conduct of the police officers who killed the terrorist: “They recognized the vehicle, which started shooting at them and started chasing him.” He added that the terrorist tried to escape on foot and noted that the police chased after him and managed to neutralize him.