Hamas has claimed responsibility for a shooting in Jerusalem that killed three people, shortly after Israel and the group extended a ceasefire in Gaza.
In a statement released hours after the shooting near a bus station in Jerusalem today, Hamas called it a "natural response to the unprecedented crimes committed by the occupiers of the Gaza Strip and against children in Jenin", an Israeli-controlled area in the West Bank.
Israeli police said two suspects in a car, one armed with an M-16 rifle and the other with a pistol, carried out the attack. Video circulating on social media showed two men getting out of a white car and opening fire on people waiting for a bus, before being shot dead by security guards and bystanders at the scene.
Police also found ammunition and other weapons in their car, adding that the two had been jailed by Israel. Hamas identified the gunmen as brothers Murad Nemr, 38, and Ibrahim Nemr, 30, members of the group’s armed wing in east Jerusalem.
Scene of the shooting in Jerusalem on November 30. Photo: AFP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the quick action of soldiers and civilians helped prevent a more serious attack. "My government will increase the distribution of weapons to the people," he said.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said the shooting was an example of the "endless war" against militant groups such as Hamas. Mr Blinken called it a reminder of the threat "Israelis face every day".
Violence has increased in the West Bank since Hamas launched a rocket attack on southern Israel on October 7 and Tel Aviv’s response in the Gaza Strip. Two weeks ago, an Israeli soldier was killed and five others were wounded in an attack on a checkpoint at the entrance to a tunnel linking the West Bank to Jerusalem. Israeli police shot and killed all three attackers.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Location of Jerusalem. Graphics: BBC
Thanh Tam (According to AFP )
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