Time.news – Tensions rise dramatically in Israel and in the Occupied Territories. A few hours after Israel bombed Gaza, seven people they remained killed in a attack carried out by a 21-year-old Palestinian, which was not known to the security services. And now the fear is of a further escalation.
The attack, which took place on Holocaust Remembrance Day, was one of the most serious in recent years. Alkam Kairi arrived by car around 20:00 local time, in front of a building used as a synagogue, where there were Shabbat celebrations. “He shot at point blank range anyone he came across“said a witness.
Entering the synagogue, he also tried to chase whoever was present. Then he got back into his car and fled towards the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina, several hundred meters away, where he ran into the agents who killed him. In the past, the terrorist had published a post on Facebook in which he wrote that “the right sniper in the right place is better than a thousand soldiers in the nearest field”.
When the serious attack became known, the mosques of Gaza, Jenin and Hebron announced it with megaphones. A convoy of cars was seen in Ramallah, carousel around the city. In Gaza – looking at the photos relaunched by the Palestinian media – there were those who went out into the street, with huge plates, to distribute sweets to passers-by. He also cheered the Hamas spokesmanHazem Kassem:A heroic deed, revenge for the dead in Jenin“. With him the spokesman of Islamic Jihad, Daud Shahab: “The message to Israel is that we are ready for resistance and for the final battle, which is very close”.
Benjamin Netanyahupremier of the most right-wing government in history and who had promised to guarantee the safety of citizens, wanted to go to the site of the attack and has convened a meeting of the security cabinet for tomorrow: it was “one of the worst attacks in years,” he said. “It is necessary to act decisively and calmly“, he then observed, explaining that the government has already “decided on some immediate steps, already this evening”.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who was in the United States for personal reasons, will return to Israel tonight.
The attack follows days of violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. And tensions escalated further Thursday morning, when a raid by Israeli troops in the West Bank on a terrorist cell left at least nine Palestinians dead. The reaction, on Thursday night, was the firing of numerous rockets from Gaza, to which Israel reacted with air raids.
Tensions were also high in Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount on Friday, even though Muslim prayers went ahead without problems. Complicated days are expected for the Netanyahu government, which took office just a few weeks ago.
The condemnation of the US and the Italian government
“A scary attack“. The United States has condemned the terrorist attack on the Jerusalem synagogue, in which at least 7 Israelis died in addition to the bomber. US State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel explained that the Biden administration is in contact with the Israeli counterparts and that there should be no changes to Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned visit to Israel next week.
Stop the stance also of the Italian government that “strongly condemns the cowardly terrorist attack of Jerusalem and expresses its condolences and closeness to the State of Israel and to all its people”, reads a note from Palazzo Chigi.