A 13-year-old Palestinian boy was behind a shooting in East Jerusalem Saturday that injured two people, a day after an attack that killed seven, according to reports.
A father and son were seriously wounded in the Saturday attack, while the boy was shot and injured by passersby, and is currently in custody in a hospital.
“This is a significant rise in the level of terror,” said Dean Elsdunne, a spokesman for the Israeli police, adding that the “terrorist” is being treated in the hospital.
Saturday’s shooting in the Silwan neighborhood just outside Jerusalem’s Old City came after seven people were killed at a shooting at a synagogue on Friday. At least three were injured in that shooting, and authorities took 42 people into custody in connection with the attack.
In Friday’s shooting, Israeli worshipers had gathered for Friday prayers at a synagogue in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood when a gunman began firing as they were leaving the temple. Authorities shot the gunman dead.
Militant Palestinian groups praised the gunman afterward, but they did not take credit for the attack.
Tensions have been rising since Israeli troops killed nine Palestinians — both militants and civilians — in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Thursday. The attack was followed by rocket fire into Israel from Gaza, according to reports.