Palestinian gunmen kill six Israelis in Jerusalem shooting
Two Palestinians killed six Israelis and wounded several others in a shooting attack in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday.
The attackers, reportedly from the occupied West Bank, arrived in a vehicle at a bus stop at the Ramot Junction, where they opened fire on a crowd using a makeshift “Carlo” submachine gun.
They were later shot and killed during an exchange of fire with an off-duty Israeli soldier at the scene.
According to Israeli media, the two men were in their 20s and came from the villages of Qatna and Qubeiba, near Ramallah.
Israel’s Army Radio reported that neither had a prior security record, and neither held permits to enter Israel.
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At least 12 others were wounded in the attack, including seven in serious condition, according to Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service.
Israeli media reported that the army planned to reinforce its presence in the occupied West Bank and was deploying four additional battalions to Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces imposed a lockdown on four villages near Jerusalem: Qatna, Biddu, Beit Anan, and Beit Duqqu.
'Even stricter measures'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the site shortly after the attack.
“We will pursue everyone involved in carrying out this attack and will take even stricter measures,” Netanyahu said at the scene.
Ben Gvir called on all Israelis to carry weapons at all times.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the villages from which the two Palestinians came "should become like Rafah and Beit Hanoun" - cities in the Gaza Strip that Israeli forces have almost entirely razed.
He also stated that "the Palestinian Authority must disappear from the map".
The Palestinian group Hamas welcomed the attack, calling it a “natural response” to what it described as Israel’s crimes against Palestinians and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
“This operation, carried out in the heart of Jerusalem, strikes the occupation's security core and affirms the determination of our rebellious youth and our valiant resistance to continue on the path of resistance and confront the fascist Zionist aggression,” Hamas said in a statement.
In nearly two years of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Israeli forces have killed over 64,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 160,000, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Over 80 percent of those killed are civilians, based on the Israeli military's data.
The war began after armed groups from the enclave, which has been recognised as occupied since 1967, entered southern Israel and killed around 1,200 Israelis.
Hundreds were taken captive back to Gaza.
On Monday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the "terror attack" in Jerusalem.
"The Secretary-General strongly condemns today's terror attack in Jerusalem," Stephane Dujarric said in a statement, adding that he offered his "heartfelt condolences" to the victims' families.
The killing is one of the worst attacks inflicted on Israel since the beginning of the current conflict on 7 October.
An attack in Jerusalem in November 2023 saw two Palestinian gunmen kill four people and injure five near others the Givat Shaul neighborhood.
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