After an Israeli army raid ended up killing nine people in the occupied West Bank, several other shootings took place in Jerusalem, all of them organized and carried out by Palestinians.
Due to this surge of violence in the nation’s capital, the country’s security cabinet issued new measures for dealing with the attackers, as well as laws that make gun purchasing much easier for Israelis.
Series of shootings in Jerusalem prompts Isreal to speed up firearm applications
Through the latest anti-terrorism measures, any of the attacker’s family members will have their residency revoked. They will lose access to Social Security, which is something a lot of the Palestinians in Israel depend on.
Israel’s collective punishment of Palestinians
-Over 150 attacks against Palestinians by Israeli settlers last night
-Israel to issue more gun licenses to settlers
-Israel to seal off homes of “terrorists”and arrest their family members
-More illegal settlements in West Bank
— Richard Medhurst (@richimedhurst) January 29, 2023
While the measures have yet to be put in place, they’re to be considered by the full cabinet later this week; although they’re more than likely to be passed, seeing as PM Benjamin Netanyahu promised the response to the attacks will be strong and swift.
On top of this, the Israeli army announced they’ll be increasing the number of troops located in the West Bank, preventing any further breakouts of violence from the angered Palestinians.
Naturally, all of this was made possible by the fact that several of Netanyahu’s political allies from Israel’s far-right allowed him to return to power last month, which continued his crackdown on Palestinian terrorism in Israel.
Israel is liberalising its gun ownership laws. What could possibly go wrong.
— Paul Gosling (@PaulGosling1) January 30, 2023
Tensions in Israel continue to grow, strong response expected from both sides
According to Israeli police, the Silwan neighborhood shooting was carried out by a 13-year-old Palestinian boy, who severely wounded an Israeli man and his child.
The other shooting happened inside a synagogue in East Jerusalem on Friday last week, killing seven and injuring at least three more Israelis attending prayer at the time.
In response to the gunman’s vicious attack, the law enforcement troops that arrived on the scene shot and killed him on sight.
A detailed report on the synagogue shooting shows the assailant was yet another Palestinian from East Jerusalem. They have found enough evidence to properly ID the man and 42 other Palestinians were arrested due to having connections with him.
#Israel. Gun attack in #NeveYa'akov neighborhood near a #Synagogue in #Jerusalem. Nine dead, all Israeli citizens. There are at least 6 injured on the spot, 3 very seriously.
The #terrorist would have been neutralized. pic.twitter.com/qo4aJS9oO9— Donato Yaakov Secchi (@doyaksec) January 27, 2023
Even though several Palestinian militant groups shed praise on the attack, none of them took responsibility for it, further increasing panic among the Israelis.
To prevent chaos from breaking out, Netanyahu urged the citizens of Jerusalem to remain calm and allow the city’s law enforcement to deal with the situation; although he is willing to make it easier for every one of them to defend themselves.
Despite this, he’s not too keen on letting just about anyone take the law into their hands. The upcoming set of measures may be exactly what Israel needs to deal with the constant barrage of attacks from Palestinian militant groups.
This article appeared in The Record Daily and has been published here with permission.
