The weapon used in a suspected terror attack in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Neve Ya’akov, on January 27, 2023. Source: Twitter

i24 News – A terror attack on Friday left seven people dead and three wounded in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood Neve Ya’akov in east Jerusalem before the shooter was “neutralized” and another assailant fled.

Reports indicated that the assailants arrived at the ultra-Orthodox settlement in a car and stopped near a synagogue. They entered the Jewish place of prayer with an automatic weapon and opened fire “for several minutes.” A chase was immediately underway for the driver who escaped.

“This is a serious and complex attack with a large number of victims,” said Israeli police chief Kobi Shabtai. “We are currently conducting searches in the area to rule out the possibility that there are more people involved who are walking around freely. The terrorist was neutralized by a police officer and a volunteer of the Israel Police, they prevented a larger attack and neutralized the terrorist.”

The shooter was later identified as Fadi Ayash — a resident of the Shuafat refugee camp.

Shortly after the incident, Gaza’s extremist groups Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad said the massacre was a “natural response” to the “crimes of the [Israeli] occupation.”

“The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement praises the suicide operation in Jerusalem, which came at the right time and place in response to the Jenin massacre,” said PIJ spokesperson for the West Bank, Tariq Ezz El-Din.

An Israeli raid on Thursday in the West Bank town of Jenin left nine Palestinians dead, leading to a brief rocket exchange between the Gaza-based extremist groups and Israel.

“We salute the jihadist and resistance action in the city of Jerusalem. The heroic operation comes as revenge for the martyrs of Jenin. The operation in Jerusalem is a natural response to the crime of occupation in Jenin. The revolutionary youth and the resistance imposed an equation that kills for killing. The battle with the occupation continues and continues,” said Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem.

The U.S. State Department condemned the attack and said it was in “direct contact with our Israeli partners.”

Condemnation poured in from lawmakers in the United States and Europe.

“I am heartbroken and outraged by the horrific shooting that killed Jewish worshippers in a Jerusalem synagogue earlier today,” Tweeted New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

“We strongly condemn the horrific terror attack on a synagogue in #Jerusalem,” Tweeted Austria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “There is no excuse for targeting places of worship. Our thoughts are with the victims‘ families and loved ones. We hope for a speedy recovery for all those injured.”

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to soon conduct a security situation assessment alongside Defense Minister Yoav Galant.

More details to come.