A European Union spokesperson on Monday condemned a Palestinian terrorist shooting that claimed the lives of six Jewish Israeli civilians in Jerusalem earlier in the day.
“We condemn this attack, as we condemn all loss of lives,” said European Union spokesman Anouar El Anouni, adding: “We call for de-escalation, and this shows how necessary and critical a ceasefire is.”
“Civilians on both sides, both Palestinians and Israelis, have suffered for far too long and far too much. And this must end now, and it is high time to break this cycle of violence,” the E.U. spokesman told AFP.
Six people were killed and a dozen more wounded in the shooting in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramot on Monday morning.
The Gaza-based Hamas terrorist group released a statement praising the “heroic operation” carried out by “two Palestinian resistance fighters,” calling the attack “a natural response to the occupation’s crimes.”
The statement called on Palestinians across Judea and Samaria to “escalate the confrontation with the occupation and its settlers.”
French President Emmanuel Macron in a post on X “strongly” condemned the “terrorist attack that has just occurred in East Jerusalem.”
Notably, the Ramot neighborhood is located in the northwestern side of Jerusalem, and not in the eastern part of the Jewish state’s capital city.
“I extend my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to the entire Israeli people. The spiral of violence must come to an end,” Macron tweeted. “Only a political solution will bring back peace and stability for all in the region.”
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said she was “horrified” by the attack, stating: “My thoughts are with the victims and their families at this awful time.”
Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas, who is set to meet Cooper this week as part of his three-day visit to London at the invitation of U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, condemned violence in the wake of the deadly Jerusalem shooting.
According to the P.A.'s official Wafa news agency, Abbas reiterated his “firm stance rejecting and condemning any targeting of Palestinian and Israeli civilians, and denounced all forms of violence and terrorism.
The P.A. chief “stressed that security and stability in the region cannot be achieved without ending the occupation, halting acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip, and stopping colonist terrorism across the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem,” according to the statement.
Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Washington stood with Israel “against this savagery,” adding that he was “horrified” by the attack.
“Janet & I offer our heartfelt condolences to grieving families and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” the U.S. ambassador wrote on X.
