What happened in the “Nabi Jacob settlement”?
- A gunman opened fire Friday night near a synagogue in East Jerusalem, killing eight people, before he was shot and killed, according to Israeli police and medics.
- The shooting, which took place in the Neve Yaakov or Neve Yaakov neighborhood, followed an Israeli army attack Thursday in the West Bank that killed nine Palestinians, and a tenth was later killed north of Jerusalem.
- Immediately after Friday’s shooting, the Israeli rescue services said they were treating 10 injured people, some of whom were in critical condition.
- The Israeli police said that the gunman was shot and killed, and that a large police force was present at the site.
- The Israeli police commissioner said that the attack was serious and complex, and there were a large number of deaths.
- Yair Lapid, Leader of the Opposition: “Terror must not be allowed to raise its head anywhere, and these threats must be dealt with harshly.”
Washington condemns
The United States condemned the attack, as the State Department said in a statement, “We condemn the “horrific attack” in East Jerusalem, and stated that it does not expect a change in Minister Anthony Blinken’s visit to Israel so far.
Blinken is scheduled to visit Israel as part of US efforts to defuse tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.
Hours before the Jerusalem attack, the White House announced on Friday that it was “deeply concerned” about the escalation of violence between Israel and the Palestinians.
A spokesman for the US National Security Council, John Kirby, told reporters that the United States: “is very concerned about the escalation of violence in the West Bank, as well as about the rockets that were apparently launched from Gaza (…) We believe that all parties involved should To seek urgently to defuse the crisis,” according to “Agence France Presse.”
Jenin attack
On Friday, the Israeli army launched raids on the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire from the Strip.
This came after an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank, the bloodiest in years, as 9 Palestinians, including an elderly woman, were killed in an attack targeting the city of Jenin and its camp in the northern West Bank, and the 10 were killed by Israeli bullets near Ramallah.
In response to the Israeli attack, the Palestinian Authority decided to stop security coordination with Israel. Kirby added, “We are certainly aware of the challenges that Israel faces every day on the security front.”
Tour Director of the American Intelligence
And identical media reports stated that William Burns arrived in Israel, Thursday, in conjunction with the Israeli attack on Jenin, but the visit, according to these reports, was planned before.
The CIA director is scheduled to meet with political and security officials in Israel and the Palestinian territories to defuse the tension.
Palestinian officials said Burns would meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday, according to Reuters.
Burns has close relations with the Palestinian security services, and is expected to push for the resumption of security coordination with Israel.
American efforts to stop the violence
- Tour of the US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan (January 19-20).
- Visit of the Director of US Intelligence, William Burns (January 26-28).
- The visit of the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, is expected next week.
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