Deadly attack at a synagogue in East Jerusalem prompts Israel to arrest 42 people

The Israeli police arrested 42 people in connection to the shooting which occurred outside a synagogue in East Jerusalem on Friday.

Image Source: https://abcnews.go.com/

Following the deadly attack that occurred outside a synagogue in East Jerusalem on Friday, the Israeli police arrested as many as 42 people in connection with the shooting.

The deadly attack which left seven people dead and three more injured was the latest incident in the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Also, hours after the deadly shooting, a separate incident was reported where a 13 year old Palestinian boy shot and injured a father and son in the Silwan neighbourhood outside the Old City.

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The gunman, a 21 year old resident of East Jerusalem, opened fire at the crowd during the Jewish Sabbath and on International Holocaust Remembrance Day and was later killed by officers.

The attack comes a day after a deadly military raid in the occupied West Bank after two decades which left nine Palestinians dead, civilians and militants.

What followed was a rocket fire by militants which was responded to by Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. 

Tensions are soaring high between the two sides. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the scene late Friday while a crowd around him chanted “Death to Arabs”.

Meanwhile, many Palestinian groups celebrated the attack. Rallies were held where people crowded the streets chanting and waving the Palestinian flag.

Image Source: https://www.reuters.com/

Authorities have called their counter-terrorism unit “permanently” in the area. They have also been ordered to “promptly respond to exceptional events whenever necessary”.

The attack drew worldwide condemnation. 

Arab nations of Egypt, Jordan, and UAE which have ties with Israel condemned the shooting whereas the Lebanese group Hezbollah has called it “heroic”.

 James Cleverly, British Foreign Secretary tweeted “To attack worshippers at a synagogue on Holocaust Memorial Day, and during Shabbat, is horrific. We stand with our Israeli friends,”

French President Emmanuel Macron said the “spiral of violence must be avoided at all costs” while German Chancellor Olaf Schulz said that his country “stands by the side of Israel”.

A spokesperson for the UN said that Secretary General Antonio Guterres was “deeply worried about the current escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory”.

Image Source: https://moderndiplomacy.eu/

East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel after the 1967 Middle East War and has considered it as its capital. However many countries have not recognised the claim. 

Meanwhile, Palestinians have called it the capital for their future independent state.

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