More than a day after the attack, Hamas on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the shooting on a bus at the Ramot Junction in Jerusalem. The claim of responsibility came shortly before Israel launched a bombing attack on Hamas' leadership abroad as it met in Doha, Qatar.
“September is a convergence of vectors like a finjan that keeps boiling, and we don’t know where it will bubble up,” the Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday, two weeks before Rosh Hashanah. “From time to time, we need to lift the finjan to make sure it doesn’t spill over. We estimate that there are between 45,000 and 70,000 illegal Palestinian residents in Israel.”
The scene of the shooting attack at Ramot Junction
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Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued operations in the villages of Qatanna and Kubeiba near Ramallah, the home villages of the two gunmen who carried out the attack. Troops imposed curfews and closures and had already searched more than 100 buildings.
The attackers, Mohammed Taha and Muthanna Omar, who killed six civilians in Monday’s shooting, acted as a local cell of lone-wolf terrorists. They entered Israel on Monday morning through a known breach in the separation barrier near Jerusalem using improvised Carlo rifles.
The IDF said responsibility for command and control in the Jerusalem perimeter lies with Jerusalem District Police. “We are conducting patrols to strengthen protection in the capital’s perimeter. We must ensure the attack does not generate inspiration or contagion. We must stop the incitement,” the army said Tuesday.
The military also warned about the impact of the Palestinian Authority’s economic crisis on security conditions. “The PA is in crisis, with less than 35% of salaries being paid to its employees,” the IDF said. Security officials also said they are preparing for possible revenge attacks by Jewish extremists. “We are talking about no more than 200 anarchist activists, and we are removing them from the field. We have reduced such incidents by about 40%,” they claimed.
Six Israelis were killed in Monday’s shooting: Rabbi Mordechai Steintzeg (known as Dr. Mark), 79, whose food products are sold in nearly every supermarket in Israel; Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Pash; Yaakov Pinto; Rabbi Yisrael Metzner; Rabbi Yosef David; and Sarah (Sarita) Mendelson. The youngest victim was 25.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday he ordered sanctions on the attackers’ relatives and their villages. “We will demolish every illegal structure in the villages and revoke 750 work permits and entry permits into Israel,” Katz said. He added that the measures were based on the recommendation of Israel’s defense establishment and Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.