The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for a shooting in Jerusalem on Friday night which left at least seven Jewish settlers killed, in what Israel has said is one of the worst attacks in years, The New Arab reported.
The shooting in the Neve Yaakov Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem came after the killing of 10 Palestinians a day earlier in the occupied West Bank, nine of them in the Jenin refugee camp.
The shooter was identified as 21-year-old Khairy Alqam.
“The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades mourns the martyrdom of Khairy Alqam from the Al-Tur neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem,” the group said.
It added that Alqam died “after he shook the security of the Zionist entity, and with his gun killed more than seven and exposed the fragility of their [Israel’s] security and military system.”
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades – the armed wing of the Fatah movement – said the Friday evening attack was a “natural response” to the crimes committed by Israel, the latest being the raid in Jenin.
At least 32 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in the West Bank since the beginning of the year.
Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahranoth said on its website Friday that Alqam had “no security records” with the Israeli authorities and was “unknown” to them.
In the wake of the attack, Israel on Saturday increased its security alert to the “highest level,” deploying extra forces to Jerusalem and the West Bank.
A statement by the Israeli police said they had arrested “42 people for questioning” overnight, “some of them members of the terrorist’s family”. Others detained included residents of the gunman’s neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem which Israel annexed in 1967.
(The New Arab, PC, SOCIAL)
