Arab Countries Call for End to Escalation after Jerusalem Synagogue Attack

Israeli security forces at the scene of a shooting near the Old City in Silwan neighborhood in Jerusalem, 28 January 2023, a day after deadly attack on synagogue. (EPA)
Israeli security forces at the scene of a shooting near the Old City in Silwan neighborhood in Jerusalem, 28 January 2023, a day after deadly attack on synagogue. (EPA)
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Arab Countries Call for End to Escalation after Jerusalem Synagogue Attack

Israeli security forces at the scene of a shooting near the Old City in Silwan neighborhood in Jerusalem, 28 January 2023, a day after deadly attack on synagogue. (EPA)
Israeli security forces at the scene of a shooting near the Old City in Silwan neighborhood in Jerusalem, 28 January 2023, a day after deadly attack on synagogue. (EPA)

Arab countries condemned on Saturday the attack outside a synagogue in Jerusalem that left seven people dead.

They stressed the need to end the escalation between Israel and the Palestinians.

Official spokesman of Jordan’s foreign ministry Sinan al-Majalyi said the kingdom condemns the attack against civilians at the synagogue and all forms of violence against civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories.

It stresses the need to take “immediate and effective steps that would end the dangerous escalation that has left Palestinian and Israeli casualties,” he added.

He warned that the continuation of the violence would lead to dire consequences.

He urged the need for calm and an end to “all unilateral and provocative measures that only fuel escalation and tensions.”

Furthermore, the spokesman underlined the need to “halt the dangerous escalation that feed despair and extremism.”

Rather, efforts are “needed to restore faith in the peace process through the resumption of serious and effective negotiations aimed at achieving fair and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution.”

The United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry condemned Friday's “terrorist attack” on the synagogue, slamming “these criminal acts and underscoring its constant rejection of all forms of violence and terrorism that seek to undermine security and stability and contradict with human values and principles.”

It offered its condolences to the Israeli government and its friendly people and the relatives of the victims.

Egypt expressed its “strong condemnation and rejection of the attack” in East Jerusalem, saying it denounces all operations targeting civilians.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry warned of the “extreme dangers” of the ongoing escalation between the Palestinians and Israelis, urging “maximum restraint” and an end to attacks and provocative measures in order “to avoid sliding into a new empty cycle of violence.”

Such violence will only deepen the political and humanitarian crisis and undermine all efforts to revive the peace process, it warned.

A Palestinian gunman shot dead seven people near a synagogue on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Friday.

Israeli police said that the gunman attack was a 21-year-old Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem who appeared to have acted alone in carrying out the attack in an area that Israel annexed to Jerusalem after the 1967 Middle East war.

On Saturday, the Israeli ambulance service said two people were hurt in what appeared to be another shooting attack.

The attack underlined fears of an escalation in violence after months of clashes in the West Bank culminating in a raid in Jenin on Thursday that killed at least nine Palestinians.

The outbreak of violence is the first major confrontation since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office last month at the head of a government that includes hardline nationalist parties.

Earlier on Friday, fighters in Gaza fired rockets at Israel, causing no casualties but drawing air strikes by Israeli jets, which struck targets in the blockaded coastal strip controlled by Hamas.



Damascus Says Security Operation Ends in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya

Armed members of Syria's Druze community attend the funeral of seven people killed during overnight clashes with Syrian security forces, in Damascus, on April 30, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Armed members of Syria's Druze community attend the funeral of seven people killed during overnight clashes with Syrian security forces, in Damascus, on April 30, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Damascus Says Security Operation Ends in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya

Armed members of Syria's Druze community attend the funeral of seven people killed during overnight clashes with Syrian security forces, in Damascus, on April 30, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Armed members of Syria's Druze community attend the funeral of seven people killed during overnight clashes with Syrian security forces, in Damascus, on April 30, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The head of security in Syria’s Damascus countryside, Hussam Al-Tahan, said a security operation in the flashpoint town of Ashrafiyat Sahnaya had concluded, with Syrian forces now deployed across all neighborhoods to restore calm and stability.

State-run SANA news agency quoted Tahan as saying security forces had taken full control of the area, located southwest of the capital, and were launching measures to secure civilians and stabilize the situation.

Syrian state television reported that large reinforcements from General Security had entered the town to pursue what it described as “outlawed groups,” with forces now deployed at all entry and exit points to prevent further violence.

At least 75 people were injured over the past 48 hours in Sahnaya, according to state television, amid heavy gunfire and attacks blamed on armed groups. The clashes have stoked fears of deepening sectarian tensions in the area.

In an effort to defuse the crisis, local dignitaries and religious leaders from the Druze community held a meeting with the governors of Damascus countryside, Sweida, and Quneitra. Syria’s top cleric, Grand Mufti Sheikh Osama Abdul Karim Al-Rifai, called on citizens to reject sectarian strife.

“Any act of revenge or retaliation is unjust,” the Mufti said in a televised address on Wednesday. “Syrian blood is sacred. Do not listen to calls for revenge – extinguishing this strife will save lives,” he added, urging Syrians to allow justice to take its course.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement that armed militants had launched a surprise assault on several General Security checkpoints in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya using light weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, injuring a number of personnel.

In response, security forces fanned out across the area. But snipers from the armed groups reportedly took up positions on rooftops, targeting officers and killing five General Security members and wounding others.

In the early hours of Wednesday, the ministry added, militants opened fire on a vehicle arriving from the southern province of Daraa, killing six civilians inside.

General Security forces have since tightened control in and around the town, sending additional units to contain the violence and ensure the safety of residents.

A curfew was imposed on Tuesday after gunmen based in a nearby town launched an attack on security posts surrounding Ashrafiyat Sahnaya. The situation briefly calmed after General Security forces took up positions at the town’s eastern entrance, but clashes flared again overnight and continued into Wednesday morning.

A security source in Damascus said a wide-scale sweep was underway to arrest armed groups accused of using the town as a base for launching “terrorist operations” against civilians.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, residents described a harrowing night of intense gunfire, explosions, and drone activity. “We didn’t sleep. The sound of gunfire and mortars didn’t stop,” said one civilian source. “Snipers were on rooftops, and drones hovered all night.”

With no reliable news source other than conflicting and fear-inducing social media updates, residents expressed confusion about the unfolding events.

Locals called on Syrian civil society to act and protest against incitement and militia activity, urging the disarmament of rogue groups. They warned that armed factions from outside Sahnaya were launching attacks from the town’s outskirts, including a shooting incident on Tuesday that targeted a General Security checkpoint.

Tensions flared further in and around the Syrian capital as the town of Jaramana, south of Damascus, held funerals on Wednesday for seven people killed in overnight clashes earlier this week.

The city witnessed heavy fighting between Monday and Tuesday night, part of a broader wave of unrest in southern Damascus and surrounding areas.