Several Palestinian factions have welcomed Friday night’s shooting attack in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Neve Yaakov, where seven people were killed. They said the attack was a “natural response to Israeli crimes" and showed that the Palestinians in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip were united in the fight against Israel.
The terrorist was identified as Kheiry Alkam, 21, a resident of east Jerusalem.
In some parts of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, Palestinians took to the streets to celebrate the terror attack by handing out sweets and launching fireworks.
The attack came one day after some Palestinian factions threatened to avenge the killing of nine Palestinians, most of them gunmen, during an Israeli military operation against Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists in Jenin Refugee Camp.
Hamas spokesmen welcomed the attack in Neve Yaakov and called for stepping up the “resistance” against Israel.
“The Jerusalem operation is a natural response to the Jenin massacre,” said Mohammed Hamadeh, a spokesperson for Hamas. “Our people don’t forget the blood of their martyrs and avenge their death at the appropriate time and place.”
Hamadeh said the Palestinians were “united behind the resistance.” He added: “The battle with the occupation is a long one. Our people will continue the path of resistance as a strategic option to achieve their aspirations.”
Another Hamas official, Abdel Latif Qanou, said the attack marked the beginning of the Palestinian response to the “crimes of the government of the fascist settlers, the latest of which was the massacre in Jenin Refugee Camp.
“The heroic operation demonstrated the inability of the Zionist occupation to confront the heroes of the resistance,” Qanou added, noting that the Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem remain united in the fight against Israel.
Continued praise from terror groups
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the second largest terror group in the Gaza Strip after Hamas, welcomed the “heroic operation” in Neve Yaakov, saying it sends a message to Israel that the Palestinians are ready to respond to its crimes.
“This operation came at the right time and place to avenge the blood of the martyrs in the Jenin camp and the West Bank,” PIJ said. “It came as a natural and legitimate response to the crimes of the occupation and the violations against the holy sites.”
PIJ praised the attacker for his “courage” and described him as a “martyr.”
“This blessed operation confirms the determination of the Palestinian people and their ability to respond in all areas,” it added.
The PLO’s Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) said in separate statements that the “heroic operation” shows that the Palestinian “resistance” will continue.
“The heroic operation is the embodiment of the will of our people to confront the enemy and to punish the Zionist war criminals,” the PFLP said.
“We warned of this repeatedly, but the international community did not respond to calls to stop the [Israeli] aggression and put an end to the shedding of Palestinian blood,”
Mahmoud Abbas
The DFLP said the attack marked the beginning of a “new era of comprehensive popular resistance and reaffirms our people’s choice of resisting the occupation and chasing the settlers everywhere.”
The Popular Resistance Committees, an alliance of various terror groups in the Gaza Strip, also hailed the attack as an “heroic operation.”
The attack, the group said, “sends a message to the Zionist enemy that the Palestinians and the resistance will never surrender.” It called on Palestinians to take to the streets to express their joy over the attack and their adherence to the armed resistance against Israel.
The ruling Fatah faction, headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement late Friday that the “explosion of the situation was an inevitable result of the escalating crimes of the occupation against our people.”
“We warned of this repeatedly, but the international community did not respond to calls to stop the [Israeli] aggression and put an end to the shedding of Palestinian blood,” Fatah said. “The international community must assume its responsibilities towards curbing the aggressive behavior of the occupation government.”