IDF Seals Home of Terrorist Who Attacked Neve Yaakov Shul

A Yerushalayim police spokesperson said on Sunday that the terrorist who carried out the fatal shooting attack in Neve Yaakov had his house sealed by Israel Police, Border Police and the IDF.

“The terrorist’s house was seized on the night of the attack by police and security forces who evacuated its occupants and arrested the terrorist’s relatives and family members,” the police statement said, adding that the operation was finished in the early hours of Sunday. “The sealing of all the openings of the house was carried out after receiving the required approvals and at the instruction of the political echelon.”

The terrorist, Khairi Alkam, murdered seven people, Hy”d, and wounded three in Neve Yaakov on Friday night. Alkam opened fire at passersby with his handgun near the Ateret Avraham beit knesset.

Alkam was not known to security forces and had no previous connections to terrorist organizations. His home, which was sealed, is located in the eastern Yerushalayim neighborhood of A-Tur.

Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai ordered that the alert level be raised to the highest level, following the Neve Yaakov attack. According to a police spokesperson, officers have begun to work 12-hour shifts.

“It’s good that my suggestion to seal it was accepted, and soon we will seal the entire house. And the speed of the response, which was not there in the previous government, is important,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Motzoei Shabbos. “At the same time, we need to take a number of other steps to react and make clear to terrorists that there is a new government in power, and that Israel is going on the offensive and not just defending itself.”