Israelis Urged To Carry Weapons After Attacks

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel’s Security Cabinet wants to make it easier for Israelis to carry guns as Palestinian attacks in Jerusalem over the past three days killed and injured several people.

The move came after two Israelis were shot and injured on Saturday, the Jewish Shabbat, in East Jerusalem. A 13-year-old boy carried out Saturday’s attack, Israeli officials said.

He acted the morning after a Palestinian assailant killed seven people outside a synagogue elsewhere in the city, authorities confirmed.

Both victims on Saturday were taken to a hospital and were described by medics as “being in serious but not critical condition.”

The teenage assailant was shot and injured by two passers-by, according to a police statement.

Separately, early on Sunday, the Israeli military said that security guards in the West Bank settlement of Kedumim had shot an armed Palestinian.

The potential attacker allegedly carried a handgun, and the military released a photo of what it said was the weapon. There were no more details on the incident or the alleged attacker’s condition.

PUNITIVE STEPS

The latest confrontation came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday announced a series of punitive steps against Palestinians following the previous attacks.

After talks with his Security Cabinet, the prime minister clarified the steps, including making it easier for Israelis to get gun licenses and stepping up efforts to collect illegal weapons.

Netanyahu’s office said the Security Cabinet also agreed to seal off the attacker’s home immediately ahead of its demolition. It also plans to cancel social security benefits for the families of attackers.

Additionally, Netanyahu plans to beef up Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which Israel captured after being attacked by a coalition of Arab states in 1967.

Critics said the announcement cast a cloud over a visit next week by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. It also threatened to further raise tensions following one of the bloodiest months in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in several years. The shootings in East Jerusalem followed an Israeli raid Thursday that killed nine Palestinians, most of them militants, authorities said.

In response, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a barrage of rockets into Israel, triggering a series of Israeli airstrikes. In all, 32 Palestinians and at least seven Israelis have been killed in fighting and attacks this month, according to several sources.

While Palestinian attackers in East Jerusalem allegedly acted alone, terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad have praised the violence. They called Friday’s deadly attack on a synagogue, for instance, a “heroic operation.”

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