Palestinian officials from both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip failed to condemn the attack in Neveh Ya’acov on January 27 in which seven civilians were killed and three were injured.
Hours after the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was "one of the worst attacks we have known in recent years, our hearts go out to the families of the wounded and dead. We have assessed the situation and decided on some immediate actions, we will act decisively and calmly."
PA, Hamas blame Israel for terror attacks in Jerusalem
A day after the attack, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called a meeting with Palestinian leadership officials in Ramallah. Following the meeting, a statement was issued condemning Israeli “escalation.” The statement failed to express any sentiment toward Israeli civilians killed in the attack.
Hamas spokesman, Muhammed Hamada, claimed the attack was “heroic” and claimed that the attack was a response to Israeli military action in Jenin - where nine gunmen were killed.
Despite claims that the attack was in response to Jenin, the spokesman's social media pages make no reference to the military action.
The Palestinian response to Jerusalem terrorist
The terrorist behind the attack, 21-year-old Khairy Musa Alqam, was a resident of an east Jerusalem neighborhood. The father of the terrorist denies affiliation with Palestinian terror groups. Despite this declaration, Fatah has claimed that Alqam attended Fatah Ashbal summer camp and also claimed responsibility for inspiring the attack.
According to unconfirmed reports, the grandfather of the terrorist was allegedly killed by a settler in 1998 and no charges have been pressed to date for the murder. The father of the terrorist has said he does not know if this was behind his son’s motivation in the attack, according to AP.
The uncle of Alqam was reported as saying that he was proud of him and his choice to make “all Palestine happy”, according to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (MAITIC). According to AP, the father of the terrorist has said, “I don’t know how he planned what he did.”
MAITIC also reported the terrorist having posted in October 2021 on social media, “Who says we want peace? We want war without end.”
The terrorist’s home has now been sealed up.
14-year-old Asher Natan, married couple Eli and Natalie Mizrahi, 56-year-old Rephael Ben Eliyahu, 68-year-old Shaul Hai, Ukrainian citizen Irina Korolova and 26-year-old Ilya Sosansky were all killed in the terror attack in Jerusalem.