The Israeli occupation army announced the reinforcement of its forces in the occupied West Bank, following the shooting attack near a synagogue in occupied Jerusalem, which resulted in the death of 7 Israelis and the wounding of 10 others.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the operation as the most violent in years, while the Israeli Defense Ministry issued orders to protect settlements and prepare for any field developments.
Netanyahu said, in a brief statement he made after inspecting the site of the attack, that the operation was "a cruel attack and one of the most difficult things that Israel has known in recent years."
He added that he gathered all the security services in a session to assess the situation, and decisions were taken on several immediate measures.
Netanyahu (right) and Ben Gvir rushed to the site of the attack amid strict security measures (Anadolu Agency)
The occupation strengthens its forces
The IDF Spokesperson also announced that the West Bank Division had been reinforced with an additional battalion, based on an assessment of the situation.
After the operation, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant - who cut short his visit to the United States - issued orders to protect the settlements and prepare for any further field developments.
For his part, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir vowed a strong response and a change in the orders regulating the shooting.
Netanyahu and Ben Gvir had rushed to the site of the attack amid tight security measures, and the two officials were greeted by an angry Israeli crowd chanting death to the Arabs, and inciting the officials to carry out massive reprisals against the Palestinians.
Martyr Khairy Alqam, the perpetrator of the Jerusalem attack (social networking sites)
Solo attack
The occupation police killed the perpetrator of the attack while he was fleeing the site, and the Commissioner-General of the Police said that the perpetrator was Khairy Alqam (21 years old) from East Jerusalem, noting that the preliminary investigation showed that he carried out the attack alone.
The perpetrator bears the name of his grandfather, Khairy Alqam, who was stabbed to death in 1998 by settlers in occupied Jerusalem.
Initial investigations by the Israeli police indicated that the young man, who was suspected of being from East Jerusalem and holding an Israeli identity card, fired a pistol while he was driving near a synagogue in the middle of the settlement neighborhood.
Israeli security sources said that their investigations indicated that the attacker did not belong to any known Palestinian faction.
And the Israeli media stated that the young man - who holds an Israeli identity card - fired from a pistol in his possession while he was driving near a synagogue located in the middle of the Neve Yaakov neighborhood (Nabi Jacob).
An official in the occupation police said that the attacker managed to escape from the police before they chased him and shot him dead.
Biden stressed Washington's commitment to Israel's security (French)
Washington replied
In the American reactions to the operation, US President Joe Biden described the Jerusalem attack as an attack on the civilized world, stressed the strong commitment of the United States to Israel's security, and agreed that his team should remain in constant contact with their Israeli counterparts.
The White House said in a statement that Biden had expressed to the Israeli prime minister, in a call, Washington's readiness to provide all appropriate means of support to Israel in the coming days.
White House spokeswoman Karen John-Pierre said that the United States is aware of the size of the security challenges facing Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The spokeswoman added that US officials have communicated over the past days with the Palestinian Authority and Israel regarding acts of violence and called for an end to the escalation.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also condemned the operation, and reaffirmed Washington's "firm" commitment to Israel's security, adding, "We are in close contact with our Israeli partners."
For his part, Vedant Patel, deputy spokesman for the US State Department, condemned the operation, and said that the US commitment to Israel's security remains solid.
Security Council
In the Security Council, Robert Wood, the US deputy representative to the UN Security Council, said that Washington is working to reduce tensions in the Middle East, stressing that the US Secretary of State will go to the region to focus on that.
In turn, the Chinese representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, said that the Security Council is unable to deliver a strong message on the Palestinian issue, despite the appeals of UN member states and even within the Security Council.
Before the start of a closed consultation session called for by China, the UAE and France to discuss the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, the Chinese delegate said that Israel must refrain from using further violence and protect civilians in accordance with international law.
The Palestinians blessed the Jerusalem process (Reuters)
The Palestinians bless
Marches took place in the streets of several Palestinian cities and towns, including Nablus and Jenin in the West Bank, in celebration of the operation.
The demonstrators chanted slogans denouncing the occupation, blessing the Jerusalem operation and saluting its perpetrators, as "a response to the massacres of the occupation."
Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon also witnessed popular marches to celebrate the operation.
The Jerusalem operation comes a day after 9 Palestinians were killed - including an elderly woman - and others were wounded by Israeli occupation forces' bullets when they stormed the city of Jenin and its camp in the West Bank, which sparked widespread Palestinian anger and international warnings of the consequences of the escalation.
The Palestinian resistance factions also blessed the operation as a response to what the Israeli occupation forces did in Jenin.