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A 13-year-old Palestinian wounded 2 people in an attack in East Jerusalem, police say

Israeli security forces and emergency service personnel gather at a cordoned-off area in Jerusalem's predominantly Arab neighborhood of Silwan, where an assailant reportedly shot and wounded two people on Jan. 28, 2023.
Ahmad Gharabli
/
AFP via Getty Images
Israeli security forces and emergency service personnel gather at a cordoned-off area in Jerusalem's predominantly Arab neighborhood of Silwan, where an assailant reportedly shot and wounded two people on Jan. 28, 2023.

TEL AVIV, Israel – Israeli police say a 13-year-old Palestinian shot and wounded two people in East Jerusalem on Saturday morning, just a day after a Palestinian gunman opened fire outside of a synagogue in Jerusalem at the start of the Jewish sabbath, killing seven people.

Police say the attacker opened fire near the historic Old City of Jerusalem outside a Jewish settlement site in a Palestinian neighborhood. The wounded men, in their 20s and 40s, were rushed to the hospital. Police said the gunman was shot and wounded.

On Friday night, at the start of the Jewish sabbath, a Palestinian gunman opened fire outside a synagogue, killing seven people and wounding three others. Police killed the gunman and have arrested dozens of his relatives.

Witnesses have spoken to Israeli media about Friday's shooting. They said the attacker opened fire at people on the street outside the synagogue. Some Israelis who heard the shots and rushed to the scene were also killed, including a husband and wife who were at a Friday night Shabbat dinner, as well as a motorist who stopped to help the wounded.

Friday's attack was the deadliest against Israelis in years, and took place a day after the Israeli military conducted its deadliest raid in the occupied West Bank in years, leaving at least nine Palestinians dead, including militants and a 61-year-old woman.

Israeli police say they are on high alert for more violence.

President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the Friday attack, saying he would offer "all appropriate means of support to the Government and People of Israel over the coming days."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to travel to the region this weekend.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Daniel Estrin is NPR's international correspondent in Jerusalem.
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