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Photos:
Composite photo of 30 Palestinians killed in first 26 days of 2023. Published by IMEMC News

Neve Yaakov map. Published by Haaretz

The scene of the shooting in Jerusalem, Friday night. Credit: Ohad Zwigenberg Published by Haaretz

Alkam Khairi. Published by Haaretz
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by IMEMC News
Jan 28, 2023

On Friday evening, seven Israelis were shot and killed, and 10 more were wounded, on the street in front of a synagogue in the Nabi Yacoub settlement, in the northern part of Jerusalem. The suspected shooter, a 21-year old Palestinian, was shot and killed by Israeli police at the scene.

Among the dead were a father and son, as well as at least one woman.

The attack came just a day after ten Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces – nine in Jenin, and one in Jerusalem. Since the beginning of January, 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, including several children, while no Israelis were killed until this attack. During the Israeli assault in Jenin Thursday, in addition to killing nine Palestinians, the Israeli military also blocked ambulances from reaching the hospital and fired tear gas into a children’s ward at the hospital.

Friday’s shooting took place on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27th.

The Israelis killed in the attack Friday have not yet been identified.

The Palestinian man who was shot and killed by Israeli police, the suspected shooter in the attack, was identified as 21-year old Khairi Alkam. According to Al Jazeera, Alkam’s grandfather and namesake was stabbed to death by an Israeli settler in 1998.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir toured the scene of the crime, followed by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The officials held an emergency cabinet meeting.

US President Joe Biden called Netanyahu on Friday night, calling the shooting “an attack against the civilized world”, and stressed “the iron-clad US commitment to Israel’s security”. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Israel next week. He said on Friday, “The United States condemns in the strongest terms the horrific terrorist attack. We are in close contact with our Israeli partners and reaffirm our unwavering commitment to Israel’s security.”

According to Israeli Channel 12, “The perpetrator of the attack in the Jewish synagogue got out of a car and carried out the attack with a pistol in Jerusalem.” In addition to the seven killed, ten others were taken to the hospital with injuries ranging from moderate to severe.

The Israeli “Kan” television station reported, “The Israeli security forces are still conducting intensive searches for other perpetrators of the operation in Jerusalem.”
Some Israeli media questioned the speed with which the Israeli police arrived on the scene, saying that the Israeli police did not arrive at the scene of the accident until about 20 minutes later. According to those reports, some witnesses said that the police initially believed that the noise came from shots fired in the air from neighborhoods close to occupied Jerusalem.

The Palestinians killed on Thursday in Jenin were identified as:

Saeb Mahmoud Ezreiqi, 24, Jenin city.

Ezzeddin Yassin Salahat, 26, Jenin refugee camp.

Abdullah Marwan Al-Ghoul, 18, Jenin refugee camp.

Wasim Amjad Aref Abu Al-Ja’as, 22, Jenin refugee camp.

Majeda Obeid, 61, Jenin refugee camp.

Mo’tasem Mahmoud Abu Al-Hasan, 40, Al-Yamoun town.

Mohammad Mahmoud Sobeh, 30, Burqin town.

Mohammad Sami Ghneim, 28, Burqin town.

Nour Sami Ghneim, 25, from Burqin.

This picture shows the thirty Palestinians killed in the first 26 days of 2023:
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Seven Dead, Three Wounded in East Jerusalem Synagogue Shooting Attack

Police say gunman fired at passersby and worshipers exiting the East Jerusalem synagogue, before being chased and shot dead by police ■ Hamas praises attack, deadliest in years ■ IDF chief bolsters forces in West Bank

by Josh Breiner, Nir Hasson, Jonathan Lis, Jack Khoury and Ben Samuels for Haaretz
Jan 27, 2023

Seven Israelis were killed and three were wounded on Friday evening in a shooting attack near a synagogue in the East Jerusalem settlement of Neve Yaakov, in the deadliest terror attack Israel has seen in years. The gunman was shot and killed by police.

The first victims were named as Eli and Natalie Mizrahi, a couple in their 40s. Among the injured are a man in his 20s and a 15-year-old boy who were evacuated to Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital, as well as a 60-year-old woman who was evacuated to Shaare Zedek Hospital.

Later on Saturday, the third victim was identified as 56-year-old Rafael Ben-Eliyahu.

The gunman, 21-year-old Alkam Khairi from East Jerusalem, arrived at the synagogue just before 8:15 P.M. and waited outside the building, according to police. He opened fire on pedestrians on the street, as well as worshipers exiting the synagogue, and then attempted to flee in his car. The attack is the deadliest carried out by a Palestinian in Jerusalem in some 15 years.

Overnight Friday, police and Border Police arrested 42 suspects, including the gunman's family members and associates.

According to Jerusalem District Commander Doron Turgeman, he drove towards the neighborhood of Beit Hanina, where the police found and followed him. The attacker started shooting at police, who returned fire. He later abandoned the vehicle and began to flee on foot and was shot dead by the police.

Turgeman noted that the attacker acted alone at the scene. Police officials estimated that the gunman knew the place and planned the attack in advance. The police also noted that the shooter's gun was seized.

Alkam Khairi, from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Al Shaykh, is named after his grandfather, who was stabbed to death by an Israeli Jew in 1988. According to his family members, he carried out the synagogue shooting as revenge for the killing of his distant relative – 17-year-old Mohammad Ali from Shoafat refugee camp – who was shot dead by Israeli forces who suspected he was carrying a weapon on Wednesday. The teenager's weapon was fake.

Khairi's Facebook and Tiktok accounts were taken down on Saturday at the behest of the State Prosecutor's cyber division. Palestinian users were flocking to the accounts to praise the attack, the division said, which filed the request alongside the Shin Bet security service and Israeli military. The organizations feared that the pages would motivate copycat attacks. A similar request was sent to Instagram, but the company has decided to make Khairi's account private rather than taking it down.

Israel's Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai told reporters at the scene that "This is a serious and complex attack with a large number of victims." He added that police are searching the area "to rule out the possibility that there are more people involved in the attack who are walking around freely."

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived at the scene and told one of the residents there that "We must arm more and more citizens." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was also at the scene, called the attack "one of the worst we have seen in recent years," and said "Our hearts go out to the families of the murdered, and of course with the injured we wish for their full recovery.

"We must act decisively and calmly, I urge people not to take the law into their own hands," he said, adding that the political and security cabinet will meet tomorrow.

Following the attack U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu on the phone and offered "all appropriate means of support to the Government and People of Israel over the coming days," the White House said.

The Defense Ministry stated that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is receiving operational updates from the security forces and that he is scheduled shortly to speak with IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi, Shin Bet security service Director Ronen Bar and other security officials.

United Arab List chairman Mansour Abbas responded that his party "condemns and rejects any terrorist attack in which civilians and innocents are murdered," adding "I call on everyone to exercise restraint, and cooperate to find a way to calm the situation and to save the lives of many people."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is scheduled to visit Israel next week, said in a statement that "The United States condemns in the strongest terms the horrific terrorist attack that occurred today outside of a synagogue in Jerusalem," adding that "The notion of people being targeted as they leave a house of worship is abhorrent... We are in close contact with our Israeli partners and reaffirm our unwavering commitment to Israel’s security."

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also condemned the attack and added that U.S. President Joe Biden "directed his national security team to engage immediately with Israeli counterparts to offer all appropriate support in assisting the wounded and bringing the perpetrators of this horrible crime to justice."

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides called the attack a “horrific act of violence at a Jerusalem synagogue on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.”

Hamas' spokesman in Jerusalem, Mohammed Hamada said the group "welcomes the attack which comes as a natural response to the attacks against the Al-Aqsa mosque" and the Israeli army raid in the Jenin refugee camp on Thursday, which saw nine Palestinians killed and 20 others wounded after Israeli soldiers entered the camp to carry out arrests. It was the highest death toll in the camp since Israeli invaded

Since the start of the year, Israeli forces have killed 32 Palestinians, after 2022 proved to be the deadliest year in the West Bank since the Second Intifada. Some of those were killed while carrying out attacks, but others have been civilians.

"The Palestinian people will never forget their martyrs," Hamada continued. They will "avenge their deaths when the time and place are ripe," adding that "the Neve Yaakov settlement is a heavy burden on the Palestinians in Jerusalem, and Jerusalem has proven to be a great source of martyrs who rise to avenge the Palestinian people and the Al-Aqsa mosque."

On Thursday night, seven rockets were fired into Israel from Gaza. Four were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system and three fell in open areas. A few more rockets fell inside the Gaza Strip. In response, the IDF attacked targets in Gaza. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the rocket launches.
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via Twitter


Jalal
@JalalAK_jojo

Some of you never heard of #NeveYaakov settlement before last night's fatal attack. Having grown up just across from it, I thought to provide a couple bits of info.
I think its important considering this settlement's location & the fact its home to the "IDF" Central Command HQ.

In 1924, an American Zionist group purchased 62 dunams of land from Beit Hanina landowners. They settled it 1925-48. The population did not exceed a few hundred who lived peacefully before abandoning it as the eve of Al-Nakba when news came that Jordanian army mobilized to enter.

The settlement we know today was established in 1972, but on private & titled Palestinian lands illegally confiscated by Israeli authorities in August 1970 following occupation of E. Jerusalem. Prior, there was a Jordanian military base where land had been bought by Jews in 20s.

The settlement of Neve Yaakov was built on lands stolen from Palestinians of two major towns and one village. It was built on: 551 dunams from Beit Hanina, 315 dunums from Al-Ram & Dahiyeh, 385 dunams from Hizma respectively.

Beit Hanina where I grew up suffered greatly from Israel's systematic encirclement with bypass roads & Jewishcsettlements meant to choke it, take its lands & divide into fragments (half of Beit Hanina is under Jerusalem Municipality, other half is "Area C" of WB, behind the wall.

The settlement of Neve Yaakov served an important part in the belt of Jewish-only settlements in the heart of East Jerusalem, meant to limit and fragment Palestinian communities further. It is an exclusively Jewish settlement & only expands to host incoming Zionist immigrants.

Additionally, and equally important, the settlement of Neve Yaakov is home to Fort Nehemiah, the Central Command of the "IDF" Headquarters.

Being home to Central Command meant that the settlement hosted the military body responsible for all military units, operations and activities of Israeli Occupation Forces in the occupied West Bank.
also, the HQ's commander is the one authorized to declare new settlements in WB.

- The settlement is strategic in heart of Palestinian East Jerusalem, it serves its purpose to stop natural expansion of Beit Hanina & Dahiyet Al-Barid.

- The Israeli Military runs the Occupation from there. Here are pics of Israeli Def Min Yoav Galant in Neve Yaakov on 3.1.2023