Shooting attack leaves 2 more injured in Israel, and fears of escalation of conflict grow

Two people were seriously injured in the Old City of Jerusalem on Saturday (28) in a shooting attack, Israeli police said. According to initial information, the victims would be father and son.

The attack comes less than a day after another similar episode at an East Jerusalem synagogue left at least seven dead and three others injured on Friday night (27). So far, around 42 people have been detained for questioning in the case.

The victims of Saturday’s attack were said to be between 20 and 59 years old. The son was a volunteer with the Magen David Adom emergency medical service but was not working at the time, the Times of Israel reported. Both he and his father are in serious but stable condition.

Local police identified the gunman as a 13-year-old Palestinian boy. He was located by the agents and injured and is now receiving treatment at a hospital in the region. Also according to the Times of Israel, he would have been injured by two passers-by who walked armed.

The country activated the highest national alert level and reinforced the presence of security agents in Israel and the West Bank following the sequence of attacks. Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said a team from the elite Yamam counterterrorism unit had been sent to Jerusalem.

The attacks come at a time of rising tensions in Israel. The death of at least ten Palestinians last Thursday (26) in actions by the Israeli Army, led by the most right-wing political coalition the country has ever seen, exacerbated the crisis with Palestine.

Last year was the deadliest in Israel and the Palestinian territories since 2004, with around 250 Palestinians killed in the West Bank and 30 Israelis killed. Another 49 Palestinians died in the Gaza Strip in a three-day Israeli bombing raid in August. Since the beginning of January, 31 Palestinians have been killed.