Israeli security forces arrested dozens of suspects in connection with Friday night’s deadly terrorist attack at a synagogue in Jerusalem, police said on Saturday.
Many of the more than 40 people detained are relatives or acquaintances of the terrorist, 21-year-old Alqam Khayri from eastern Jerusalem, who was shot and killed by police during the attack.
Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai on Saturday ordered the alert level raised to the highest level in the capital after seven people were killed in the shooting rampage in the northern Neve Ya’akov neighborhood.
Two of the slain were named on Saturday as husband and wife Eli and Natali Mizrahi, who had gone to the aid of other victims.
Earlier Saturday, a Palestinian terrorist shot and wounded an Israeli father and son near the entrance to the City of David National Park adjacent to Jerusalem’s Old City.
Police said the attacker, a 13-year-old from the nearby Silwan/Shiloach neighborhood, was shot and neutralized by armed civilians.
The Kan public broadcaster identified the terrorist as Muhammad Aliyat.
As part of the mobilization following the two attacks, Shabtai ordered a team of officers from the elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit to be stationed in Jerusalem.
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi similarly ordered the reinforcement of troops in Judea and Samaria in preparation for a possible escalation in Palestinian violence.
