Palestinian cities in the West Bank and Gaza erupted with rejoicing with cries of “Allahu Akbar,” gunfire and fireworks in celebration of a deadly terror attack in Jerusalem that killed seven people and wounded several others.
The Palestinian terrorist, identified as Alqam Khayri, a 21-year-old resident of eastern Jerusalem, opened fire on a group of Israeli worshipers as they were leaving a synagogue in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Neve Yaakov.
It was the deadliest Palestinian terror attack on Israelis since 2008.
Videos posted to social media showed hundreds of Palestinians in at least 7 different cities marching and chanting in the streets, honking cars, firing rounds into the air from rifles, handing out candy, and igniting fireworks in jubilation over the terrorist attack.
The morning after the shooting attack, another took place also in Jerusalem, when a 13-year-old Arab terrorist opened fire on a group of Israelis, severely wounded a father and son.
The Palestinian Authority issued a statement on Saturday saying it holds Israel “fully responsible for the dangerous escalation” in violence, while failing to mention the two terror attacks. It also referred to the Palestinian terrorists as “martyrs.”
The attacks follow Thursday’s IDF raid in the West Bank city of Jenin in which nine people, most of whom were terrorists, were killed.
The terrorists were planning a large-scale bombing attack against Israel. Gaza-based terror groups later launched a barrage of rockets into Israel. The Palestinian Authority announced it would be cutting security cooperation with Israel as a result of the raid.