A Palestinian terrorist carried out a drive-by shooting near the national headquarters of the Israeli police in Jerusalem on Sunday, killing two people and wounding five others.
The attack was carried out in broad daylight by a member of Hamas, who had a long police record.
A 60-year-old grandmother Levanah Maliki and 29-year-old newly married police officer Yoser Kirma were killed and five others injured after the terrorist sprayed bullets at passersby from a moving car. The shooter, a resident of Silwan in East Jerusalem, was shot dead by police.
Taking credit for the attack, the Hamas terror group also praised the shooting as “heroic” and “brave”.
In a statement calling for unity, Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin said: “This past year has not been easy… Time after time, just as today, the civilian home front found itself to be the front line”.
Minister for the Middle East, Tobias Ellwood MP, said in a post on Twitter: “Utterly condemn the attacks in Jerusalem. My thoughts are with victims and their families”.
In Washington, the State Department condemned the shooting in the “strongest possible terms”. Spokesman Mark Toner said there is “absolutely no justification for the taking of innocent lives”. He also condemned statements “glorifying this reprehensible and cowardly attack”.
Following the attack, Fatah, the party led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, posted a messaged on its official Facebook page praising the shooting and declaring the terrorist a “shahid,” or martyr.
