The assassin opened fire as people came out of the synagogue.

Police believe he waited until the approaching Sabbath prayer was over.

An eyewitness later that evening told Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir what he saw: "I came out and saw people screaming, running, two on the ground and another over there," the man said, according to a media report.

"The bastard stood in front of me with a gun, he almost killed me.

I don't know how it happened that he didn't kill me.

I crawled back into the house.”

Christian Meier

Political correspondent for the Middle East and Northeast Africa.

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Seven people and the attacker lost their lives in East Jerusalem on Friday evening.

Three other people were wounded, including a 15-year-old boy.

They were in stable condition on Saturday.

This was "one of the worst attacks in years," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after visiting the scene in Neve Yaakov, a northeastern settlement of the city.

The last time there were more than seven Israeli fatalities was in 2011, when jihadists crossed the border from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and killed eight people.

The last time there was a Palestinian terrorist attack that killed so many people was in 2008.

Police concerned about counterattacks

Police chief Kobi Shabtai said the terrorist "shot at everyone he found.

He got out of the car and started a murderous rampage with a handgun.” The perpetrator then fled by car towards the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina.

After a few hundred meters he was stopped by police forces.

He got out and fled on foot until he was shot and then shot by police officers.

According to the police, the perpetrator acted alone.

On Friday evening there was initially a mix-up, a wrong name and place of residence were given.

Police later said the perpetrator was Alqam Khairi, a 21-year-old East Jerusalem man from the Al-Tur neighborhood near the Mount of Olives.

He had no criminal record.

The police announced on Saturday that 42 people had been arrested.

Many of them are relatives or acquaintances of the perpetrator.

Police also reportedly made initial preparations to demolish the house where the gunman lived.

Israel usually does this when it comes to terrorist attacks committed by Palestinians.

The alert level in the country has been raised to the highest level.

The army leadership ordered troops to be reinforced in the West Bank and to be prepared for a possible escalation.

Police forces are also to be strengthened, particularly in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu called a cabinet meeting for Saturday night.

Several measures should be announced there, which would be implemented immediately.

"We must act decisively but with restraint," Netanyahu said on Friday evening.

"I call on people not to take the law into their own hands."

According to media reports, the police are concerned about possible counterattacks against Palestinians.

The eyewitness who spoke to Police Minister Ben-Gvir at the scene said if he had had a gun he could have prevented some of the deaths.

Ben-Gvir replied that he hoped the relevant regulations would be changed soon.

"There must be more weapons for civilians." Bystanders called on the far-right politician to do something.

Ben-Gvir is known for advocating tougher action against Palestinians.

Diplomacy behind the scenes

The killing was reportedly celebrated in some places in Gaza and the West Bank.

Internationally, however, there were appalled reactions.

The German ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, wrote on Twitter that he was "deeply saddened" by the "vicious terrorist attack on Jews".

The act was unanimously condemned at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

This had been convened to debate Thursday morning's Israeli military action in the city of Jenin in which nine Palestinians were killed, including two civilians.

Middle East Special Envoy Tor Wennesland reportedly spoke of a "rapidly deteriorating" situation at the closed session.

In fact, the situation has deteriorated significantly since Thursday.

In response to Israeli military action in the West Bank, armed groups in the Gaza Strip fired six rockets at Israel, which the Israeli army responded to with airstrikes.

At the same time, the United States government and other actors behind the scenes are working to mediate and de-escalate the situation before Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels to Egypt, Israel and Palestine early next week.

On Friday, various observers were still convinced that a major escalation would not occur immediately.

The attacks from the Gaza Strip and the Israeli attacks that followed were comparatively moderate.

After the terrorist attack on Friday evening, the situation is now very different. Further acts of violence are to be expected from both sides.

The next attack took place on Saturday morning: According to media reports, an armed Palestinian opened fire in East Jerusalem and wounded two people.

They are said to be badly wounded.