Dhe assassin opened fire as people came out of the synagogue. Police believe he waited until the approaching Sabbath prayer was over. An eyewitness later that evening told Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir what he saw: “I came out and saw people screaming, running, two on the ground and another over there,” the man said, according to a media report. “The bastard stood in front of me with a gun, he almost killed me. I don’t know how it happened that he didn’t kill me. I crawled back into the house.”
Seven people and the attacker lost their lives in East Jerusalem on Friday evening. Three other people were wounded, including a 15-year-old boy. They were in stable condition on Saturday.
This was “one of the worst attacks in years,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after visiting the scene in Neve Yaakov, a northeastern settlement of the city. The last time there were more than seven Israeli fatalities was in 2011, when jihadists crossed the border from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and killed eight people. The last time there was a Palestinian terrorist attack that killed so many people was in 2008.
Police concerned about counterattacks
Police chief Kobi Shabtai said the terrorist “shot at everyone he found. He got out of the car and started a murderous rampage with a handgun.” The perpetrator then fled by car towards the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina. After a few hundred meters he was stopped by police forces. He got out and fled on foot until he was shot and then shot by police officers.
According to the police, the perpetrator acted alone. On Friday evening there was initially a mix-up, a wrong name and place of residence were given. Police later said the perpetrator was Khairi Alqam, a 21-year-old East Jerusalem man from the Al-Tur neighborhood near the Mount of Olives. He had no criminal record. The police announced on Saturday that 42 people had been arrested. Many of them are relatives or acquaintances of the perpetrator. Police also reportedly made initial preparations to demolish the house where the gunman lived. Israel usually does this when it comes to terrorist attacks committed by Palestinians.
Some commentators pointed out that the act took place on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It was obviously aimed at devout Jews. However, there is also some evidence that the attack was an act of revenge prompted by personal circumstances. The perpetrator was reportedly a grandson of Khairi Alqam of the same name, who was stabbed to death by a Jew in Jerusalem in 1998. In addition, another relative of his, an 18-year-old Palestinian named Muhammad Ali, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers during clashes on Wednesday. The army said the teenager threatened soldiers with a gun. It later turned out to be a toy gun.
In addition, Thursday’s Israeli military operation in Jenin, which killed nine Palestinians, may have played a role. Palestinian organizations hailed the synagogue attack as revenge for that incident.