We join the entire people of Israel in mourning the horrific aftermath of the murderous Arab terroristic attack that happened on Shabbat in Yerushalayim.
On Shabbat evening, an Arab terrorist from the At-Tur neighborhood of Yerushalayim located in the eastern part of the capital, made his way to the Neve Yaakov neighborhood in the northern part of the city. Despite the earlier information, the terrorist did not enter the synagogue, where the evening prayers were finished at that time. He started shooting at people who were passing by on a nearby street, approximately one hundred meters from the “Ateret Avraham” synagogue.
The murderer got out of the car and started firing at the people around him, including a couple standing in the yard of their house. Five people died instantly, two more were critically wounded and died later. Another man was seriously wounded, and there were also two people with medium-impact wounds. One of the seven people who were murdered was a teenager, Asher Nathan, who was only 14 years old, and a couple who were married only two years ago, and who rushed to the aid of the wounded, not knowing that the terrorist was still around... Also among the dead is a Ukrainian citizen who was working as a caretaker.
May G-d avenge their blood!
Then the terrorist tried to escape, got into the car, drove about 300 meters, faced a policeman and a civil guard volunteer, who opened fire on him and neutralized him. As it is said, “Indeed, Your enemies, O L-rd, indeed Your enemies shall perish”.
Unfortunately, that was not the only terroristic attack on Shabbat. In the afternoon, a 13-year-old Arab terrorist, armed with a pistol, sneaked into the City of David (an Old City neighborhood in Yerushalayim) and started shooting at people who were passing by, seriously injuring two people. The terrorist, may the memory of the wicked man rot, was wounded by a paratrooper officer who was on leave, then the terrorist was hospitalized to a Yerushalayim hospital from where he made his terrorist attack.
In the evening there was another attempt of an Arab terrorist attack, which only by miracle ended without casualties. The terrorist shot just once at a cafe at the Almog intersection in the Jordan Valley. Then his weapon became stuck and he ran away from the place of the terrorist attack. The IDF began searching the area. By the grace of G-d, no one was injured in the attack.
We have to acknowledge that the new government does not even have the usual period of so-called “hundred days of grace” to get used to its positions and get to know the current situation. They do not have time to stretch out.
Only a firm and proactive position by the government can counter this wave of terror. It is not out of the question that the time has come to initiate death sentences for terrorists, including juvenile terrorists. Not to mention less radical measures — immediate deportation of the families of terrorists, destruction of their homes, etc. All of this must of course be accompanied by consistent and systematic counterterrorist operations aimed at destroying terrorists and their infrastructures.
There are no easy solutions and no shortcuts in this hard and painstaking task. But the people of Israel have no other option. The public has elected a right-wing government; now the cabinet has no excuse, it must act decisively and forcefully.
As tensions escalate, the IDF is increasing its presence in Judea and Samaria, the police authorities asked all people who have the right to carry weapons to do so.
As for us, we also ask you to pray and make donations (tzedakah) — precisely for the safety of the people of Israel, as well as for the healing of the wounded, and of course for the speedy arrival of the Redemption and the immediate coming of Moshiach in goodness and mercy.