Hamas claims responsibility for Jerusalem shooting that killed 3

AFP , Thursday 30 Nov 2023

Hamas claimed responsibility for a shooting attack in Jerusalem that killed three people on Thursday, shortly after the extension of an Israel-Hamas truce that has brought some respite to Palestinians from Israel's war on the Gaza Strip.

Israeli police
Israeli police and security forces stand next to the covered bodies of suspected attackers as they secure the site of a shooting in Jerusalem near the Jewish settlement of Ramot with nine casualties reported, on November 30, 2023. AFP

 

Police said the two gunmen who carried out the attack were from annexed east Jerusalem and were shot dead after opening fire near a bus stop on the western side of the city, where there are no checkpoints controlling entry.

The two suspects were shot dead "after the attack by two off-duty IDF (Israeli army) soldiers and another civilian who fired at them", police said in a statement.

"A police search of the terrorists' car revealed ammunition and weaponry," it added.

A police spokesman identified those killed as a 73-year-old rabbi, Elimelech Waserman, along with Hana Ifergan, 67, and Livia Dikman, 24.

In a statement issued hours later claiming responsibility, Hamas called the attack "a natural response to the unprecedented crimes of the occupier in the Gaza Strip and against children in Jenin", in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Hamas identified the attackers as brothers Murad Nemr, 38, and Ibrahim Nemr, 30, saying they were members of its armed wing based in east Jerusalem.

Police said the attackers had been jailed by Israel in the past.

Footage circulating on social media and broadcast on Israeli television showed two men emerging from a white car and opening fire on people waiting for a bus, before security personnel and bystanders intervene and return fire.

AFP was unable to immediately verify the footage.

Meanwhile, two Israeli soldiers were slightly injured in a ramming attack at a checkpoint in the West Bank, the army said, adding "soldiers at the scene shot and neutralised the assailant".

"The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment," it said in a statement, noting forces were "searching the area for additional suspects".

Violence has surged in the West Bank since the outbreak of Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 15,000 people, most of them women and children, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online

 

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