Two people were shot and wounded in a terror attack outside Jerusalem’s Old City, police and medics said Saturday morning.
Police said the attacker was a 13-year-old from East Jerusalem.
The Kan public broadcaster named him as Muhammad Aliyat from Silwan.
Hebrew-language media reports said the victims were a father and son, and were volunteers with the Magen David Adom emergency service. It was unclear if they were working at the time of the attack.
Magen David Adom said its medics treated two people on Ma’alot Ir David Street in the capital, close to the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, before taking them to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in the city.
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The hospital said the victims, a man in his 20s and a 59-year-old man, were listed in serious but stable condition.
An Israeli policeman secures a shooting attack site near Jerusalem’s Old City, on January 28, 2023.(AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Both suffered gunshot wounds to their upper bodies, according to MDA.
Police said the terrorist was “neutralized” without giving further details on his condition. Initial reports suggested he was shot by an armed civilian passerby.
Gunfire could be heard in footage shared on social media.
???? متابعة صفا | اللحظات الأولى لتنفيذ عملية إطلاق النار في بلدة سلوان بالقدس والتي أسفرت عن إصابة مستوطنين اثنين pic.twitter.com/cSDwKxD5SU
— وكالة صفا (@SafaPs) January 28, 2023
The attack came hours after seven people were killed and three more were hurt in a shooting attack on Friday night in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood.
Police said Saturday that the national alert level was raised to the highest level, as security forces were bolstered across Israel and the West Bank in the wake of the deadly attack.
Military chief Herzi Halevi issued instructions to increase forces in the West Bank and along its security barrier, and to prepare for a potential escalation in the region.
Friday’s deadly attack came following days of violence in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Tensions have increased dramatically since Thursday morning, when an Israel Defense Forces raid in the West Bank against a terrorist cell left nine Palestinians dead — most of them gunmen and members of the cell, though at least one civilian was also killed.
Thursday overnight saw rocket fire from Palestinian terror groups in Gaza and Israeli retaliatory air strikes as both sides appeared intent on avoiding an escalation into a full-scale war.
