While Israel mourns: Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terror groups celebrate murder of 6 Israelis

Several terrorist groups praised Monday’s shooting attack in Jerusalem, where two Palestinian gunmen murdered six Israelis and wounded about 15 others.

Among the first to celebrate the attack was Hamas, describing it as a “heroic and exceptional operation carried out by two Palestinian resistance fighters,” while stopping short of claiming responsibility.

“We affirm that this operation is a natural response to the occupation's crimes and the genocide it is waging against our people.”

Continuing its attempts to characterize the entire war as a conflict over Jerusalem, for example, by calling the Oct. 7 massacre the “Al-Aqsa Flood,” Hamas added that the attack “is a clear message that [Israel’s] plans to occupy and destroy Gaza City and to desecrate Al-Aqsa Mosque will not go unpunished.”

“The occupation’s ongoing aggression against our Palestinian people in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem will not weaken the resolve of our people or their resistance,” Hamas stated. They urged “our steadfast people to escalate the confrontation with the occupation and its settlers.”

Amir Avivi, founder of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, wrote on 𝕏 that Monday’s terror attack was part of Hamas’ attempt to ignite unrest in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) in order to derail the planned ground offensive in Gaza.

“What wasn't clear? We must understand that there is a clear trend to open the internal front with the aim of preventing victory in Gaza. A severe attack today – we must prevent the next attacks,” he wrote.

In a post several days ago, Avivi warned, “The Palestinians smell the approaching defeat and are examining how to reignite multi-arena warfare that will force the IDF to split forces again and increase international pressure.”

“The Israel Police is also required to heighten alertness and readiness. We mustn’t be surprised again,” he stated.

Several other Palestinian and foreign terror groups also lauded the terror shooting.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Hamas’ main ally in the Gaza Strip, praised the “heroic double shooting operation in occupied Jerusalem,” calling it “a natural and legitimate response to the ongoing crimes of the Zionist enemy against our Palestinian people in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and occupied Jerusalem.”

A spokesman for the Marxist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) stated, “All honor and salutations to the souls of the heroic martyrs who carried out the Jerusalem operation, and to the souls of the martyrs of our people.”

Rejecting Hamas’ religious framing of Jerusalem, the atheist group described the attack as “a resounding scream, written in blood and fire, against the occupation’s colonial and expansionist plans.”

Additional celebratory statements came from Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Yemeni Houthis.

Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, noted that there has been a consistent increase in tension within Judea and Samaria – with Hamas, PIJ, and the Palestinian Authority all working to ignite the area in recent months.

“The message the Palestinians receive from the international community is clear – terrorism pays off,” Hirsch said, referring to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s recent meetings with Western leaders and the Authority’s payments of salaries to terrorists and their families.

“Security guards need to be returned to the buses, more police officers need to be deployed in the streets, and free passage through checkpoints must be blocked. Only a clear security presence will deter and prevent further casualties,” Hirsch added.

He also expressed pessimism regarding the renewal of talks about a hostage deal, saying, “We must not delude ourselves with imaginary deals for the release of hostages. Hamas will never give up its bargaining chips. The only way forward is a military decision and the release of all hostages – only then can we deal with the threat in Judea and Samaria.”