Despite calls for peace, the attacks signal an escalation of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Saturday’s incident took place in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, outside the wall that defines the Old City, in east Jerusalem, an area annexed by Israel.
The Magen David Adom (MDA, Israel’s equivalent of the Red Cross) emergency service said the victims, a father and son aged 47 and 23, had been shot “in the upper body”.
Police said the attacker was “injured and neutralized” by security forces and was “a 13-year-old resident of East Jerusalem”. He was taken to a hospital, Andhra Pradesh agency said.
Hours earlier, police announced 42 arrests in connection with Friday’s attack on a synagogue, in which a 21-year-old Palestinian man opened fire on people gathered outside the temple on the Sabbath.
The massacre took place on the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holocaust.
The attack — condemned by the UN, Portugal, the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Arab countries such as Jordan and the United Arab Emirates — came hours after an Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The rocket was launched from the Palestinian territory.
Dozens of prisoners
The author of the attack on the synagogue was killed by police after a quick chase.
There was no indication that the gunman had previously been involved in terrorist activities or was a member of an established Palestinian armed group.
“Police have detained 42 suspects, including some members of the terrorist’s family, for questioning,” the security forces announced.
“Police will carefully investigate the link between the detained suspects and the terrorists who carried out the attack and any knowledge of their action or involvement,” the statement added.
On another note, police say they have entered a “high alert” state after the attack.
Israel annexed East Jerusalem after the Six Day War in 1967. The Palestinians consider the area the capital of the state they want to establish.
Israeli police chief Gobi Shabtai called the synagogue massacre “one of the worst attacks” in recent years.
Portugal “strongly” condemned the attack. On its Twitter account, the Portuguese MNE argued that “everything must be done to stop this escalation of violence”.
Increase in violence
On Thursday, nine Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
Israel describes the “anti-terrorist” operation as one of the deadliest operations by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank since the second intifada, the 2000 to 2005 Palestinian uprising.
Israel said the targets of the operation were Islamic Jihad fighters.
Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and the Islamic Jihad group fired rockets into Israeli territory on Friday, vowing to retaliate.
Several of the missiles were shot down by Israel’s anti-aircraft defenses, but the army retaliated with bombing raids on Gaza.
Meanwhile, the US government has announced that US diplomat Anthony Blinken will travel to Israel next week to plead for an “end to the cycle of violence”.
A State Department spokeswoman confirmed the visit on Friday, noting that Blinken would discuss “necessary steps to de-escalate tensions.”
By Ben Simon/AFP and Lusa
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