Jerusalem shooting attack ‘normal response to Israeli massacres’: Hamas

ISTANBUL (AA) – Hamas hailed a shooting attack on Thursday that killed one Israeli and injured 11 others near occupied East Jerusalem as a “normal response to Israeli massacres” in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

According to Israeli police, three Palestinians opened fire near the settlement of Maale Adumim early Thursday. The three were shot dead by Israeli settlers.

”Our people will continue to resist the occupation across Palestine until full victory and the restoration of our rights, including the establishment of our own state with Jerusalem as its capital,” Hamas said in a statement.

It said Israeli restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshippers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem “will not bring Israel security.”

Hamas called on Palestinians to ”escalate the confrontation with the occupation and its settlers in all parts of the homeland and in Jerusalem.”

Tension has escalated across the Palestinian territories amid a deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7.

At least 29,410 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 70,000 others injured. In the Hamas attack, 1,160 Israelis were killed.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

For the first time since its creation in 1948, Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, the highest judicial body of the United Nations.

An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.