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2023 Neve Yaakov shooting

SOLVED2023Neve Yaakov, East Jerusalem3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
2023 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting I
2023 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting I — Credit: Israel Police · CC BY-SA 3.0

On 27 January 2023, a gunman opened fire in Neve Yaakov, an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, killing at least seven civilians. According to Haaretz reporting cited in the Wikipedia account, the attacker walked approximately 200 metres past a synagogue and killed four passersby and a motorcyclist. People who emerged from the synagogue after hearing gunfire were also fired upon, and on his way back to his vehicle the gunman killed two more people at an intersection. Seven people were killed in total — five men and two women, ranging in age from 14 to 68 — and at least three others were wounded. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that one of the women killed was a Ukrainian citizen.

The attacker fled toward the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina, where police confronted him. According to police, he was shot and killed after opening fire on officers while attempting to flee on foot. The suspect was identified as Khairi Alqam, a 21-year-old resident of East Jerusalem. A relative of his, aged eighteen, had been killed two days earlier by Israeli authorities after reportedly threatening them with what turned out to be a toy gun. Alqam's grandfather, whom he was named after, had been killed in 1998 during the 1997–99 Jerusalem stabbings. Alqam's father told Arab media he had no knowledge of his son's plans and expressed pride in his son's actions.

The attack occurred on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a coincidence some commentators linked to the timing of the attack, while others suggested a connection to personal or family history instead. It was described as Israel's deadliest peacetime Palestinian attack since the 2008 Jerusalem yeshiva attack. Palestinian militant groups did not claim the attacker as a member but characterized the shooting as retaliation for an Israeli raid in Jenin the day before, in which ten Palestinians were killed. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesmen issued statements framing the attack in this context. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas stated that the Israeli government was "fully responsible for this dangerous escalation." Celebratory gatherings, including fireworks and gunfire, were reported in parts of Gaza and the West Bank.

In the aftermath, Palestinian and Israeli sources reported that between 42 and 50 people, mostly relatives of the attacker, were arrested. Israeli authorities moved to demolish the attacker's family home, evacuating and sealing it on 28 January. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office indicated intent to strip residency and citizenship rights from attackers' families and cancel social security benefits, drawing criticism from human rights groups and the Palestinian Foreign Ministry as collective punishment. The attack drew widespread international condemnation from numerous governments and organizations, including France, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United Nations, with several calling simultaneously for restraint amid escalating tensions.

Key facts

Victims
On file
Date
2023
Location
Neve Yaakov, East Jerusalem
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1998

    Khairi Alqam's grandfather, for whom he was named, was killed in the 1997–99 Jerusalem stabbings alongside three other Palestinians.

  2. 2023-01-26

    An 18-year-old relative of the future attacker was killed by Israeli authorities after reportedly threatening them with what turned out to be a toy gun; separately, a raid in Jenin killed 10 Palestinians the same period.

  3. 2023-01-27

    Khairi Alqam killed at least seven civilians in Neve Yaakov, East Jerusalem, shooting passersby and people leaving a synagogue before being shot dead by police in Beit Hanina.

  4. 2023-01-28

    Israeli authorities evacuated and sealed the attacker's family home in preparation for demolition.

Best coverage

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People

  • Khairi Alqam

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Suspect/attacker; identified as a 21-year-old resident of East Jerusalem who was shot and killed by police after opening fire on officers. Not a charged or convicted person as he died at the scene; listed here per available role options as the person shot dead by law enforcement.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Archival records

  • 2023 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting I

    archival location

    2023 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting I

    Credit: Israel Police · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

  • 2023 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting IV

    archival location

    2023 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting IV

    Credit: Israel Police · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

  • West Bank and Gaza celebrations after 2023 East Jerusalem Synagogue shooting

    unclassified

    West Bank and Gaza celebrations after 2023 East Jerusalem Synagogue shooting

    Credit: i24NEWS English · CC BY 3.0 · Source

  • 2023 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting II

    archival location

    2023 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting II

    Credit: Israel Police · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

  • 2023 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting III

    archival location

    2023 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting III

    Credit: Israel Police · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

  • 2023 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting IV (cropped)

    unclassified

    2023 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting IV (cropped)

    Credit: Israel Police · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

  • 2024 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting. iii

    unclassified

    2024 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting. iii

    Credit: Spokesperson unit of the United Hatzalah photographer · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

  • 2024 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting. iv

    unclassified

    2024 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting. iv

    Credit: Spokesperson unit of the United Hatzalah photographer · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

  • 2024 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting. ii

    unclassified

    2024 Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting. ii

    Credit: Spokesperson unit of the United Hatzalah photographer · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

  • Police at the Jerusalem synagogue terror attack

    archival location

    Police at the Jerusalem synagogue terror attack

    Credit: i24NEWS English · CC BY 3.0 · Source

  • Neve Yaakov Shooting sign

    other document

    Neve Yaakov Shooting sign

    Credit: איש עיטי · CC BY 4.0 · Source

Places

Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On 27 January 2023, a Palestinian gunman killed at least seven civilians in Neve Yaakov, an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem, shooting passersby and worshippers leaving a synagogue before being shot dead by police.
Where did the shooting happen?
Neve Yaakov, East Jerusalem.
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.

Sources

  1. 2023 Neve Yaakov shootingwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — Reutersnews · Reuters · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — The Washington Postnews · The Washington Post · 2026-07-07

Last verified JUL 2026