Israel vows 'strong' response to Jerusalem attacks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was "not seeking an escalation" following two attacks in Jerusalem but was "prepared for any scenario." 

"Our response will be strong, swift and precise," Netanyahu said. 

The right-wing politician also said his government would act "powerfully against terrorism." 

Netanyahu convened his Security Cabinet after the attacks, saying it would seek an increase in gun permits for licensed civilians. 

Earlier on Saturday, Israeli officials said a gunman opened fire in East Jerusalem, leaving at least two people injured. 

What we know about the latest shooting 

In a post on Twitter, Israel's Magen David Adom emergency response service said it received a call at 10:42 a.m. (0842 GMT) about a shooting and that there were "2 victims on scene." 

Paramedics said two men aged 47 and 23 sustained "gunshot wounds to their upper bodies." The two are being treated in a hospital and are in "moderate to serious condition."

The Israeli public broadcaster Kan and Israeli police reported that the gunman was a 13-year-old Palestinian boy. Police added that the shooter was "neutralized and injured." 

"He waited to ambush civilians on the holy Sabbath day," Israeli police spokesman Dean Elsdunne told The Associated Press. He said that the gunman opened fire on a group of five civilians. 

Israeli law enforcement said two passersby shot and overpowered the 13-year-old, after which police took the wounded gunman to hospital. 

Authorities said the attacker was an East Jerusalem resident and was suspected of having a terrorist motive. 

The attack on Saturday follows a deadly shooting at a synagogue in East Jerusalem on Friday night, in which seven people were killed, including a 70-year-old woman.

The attacks come amid rising tensions between Israel and the Palestinian territories. 

Israel makes dozens of arrests after synagogue attack 

Israeli authorities on Saturday said they made dozens of arrests in relation to the earlier attack at the synagogue by a 21-year-old Palestinian gunman, which police described as a terrorist incident. 

Israeli police commissioner Kobi Shabtai described the shooting as "one of the worst terror attacks in the past few years."

"The terrorist shot at everyone he encountered. He got out of the car and began a murderous rampage with a handgun," The Times of Israel quoted Shabtai as saying.

No group has claimed responsibility for the shooting. 

"The police arrested 42 suspects for questioning, some of them from the terrorist's family," Israeli police said.

The Israeli military also decided to send more forces to the West Bank following the deadly attack. 

"Following an IDF [Israel Defense Forces] situational assessment, it was decided to reinforce the Judea and Samaria [West Bank] division with an additional battalion," the military said.

International condemnation of the attacks 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was "shocked" by the "terrible" attacks in Jerusalem. He said "Germany stands with Israel." 

The German Foreign Office condemned in the "strongest possible terms the horrific terrorist attack" at a synagogue on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In a statement published on Twitter, the Foreign Ministry said, "The terrorists' cruel intention to sow hatred and make peace impossible must never succeed." 

"The spiral of violence has already claimed too many lives on both sides this year. This has to stop," the ministry said, calling for more "cooperation" and "dialogue" between Israel and Palestinian authorities in order to defeat terrorism.

The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the Friday shooting "an appalling terror attack" and condemned such "acts of insane violence and hate." 

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Affairs Ministry warned against "further dangerous escalation," adding that Riyadh "condemns targeting of civilians." 

Saudi Arabia has no diplomatic ties with Israel. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed solidarity with Israel and said a Ukrainian woman was killed in the Jerusalem attacks. 

"We share Israel's pain after the terrorist attacks in Jerusalem," Zelenskyy said in a tweet. He added that "terror must have no place in today's world. Neither in Israel nor in Ukraine."

Russia also called for "maximum restraint" following the attacks. 

Clarification, January 29, 2023: This article has been updated to reflect that one of the victims in Saturday's shooting in Jerusalem is 47 years old. The statements from the German Foreign Office and the Saudi Foreign Affairs Ministry have also been updated based on official translations.

wd, si/sri (Reuters, AFP, AP)