Two Palestinians stormed a Jerusalem synagogue on Tuesday, attacking worshippers praying inside with knives, axes and guns, and killing four. Police killed the attackers in a shootout.
Pictures posted online showed a bloodied meat cleaver at the scene of the attack, along with heavily blood-stained floors and bodies covered in shawls.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will ‘respond harshly’ to the attack, which he described as the ‘cruel murder of Jews who came to pray and were killed by despicable murderers’.
The two terrorists, according to local media reports, are from the Jabel Mukaber district of East Jerusalem, which has been the scene of relentless clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in recent months.
They are cousins aged 22 and 27 from the Abu Jamal family – though their names are not yet known.
They were reportedly inspired by calls from Hamas through Palestinian media and on social media to attack Israeli targets to ‘protect the Al Aqsa mosque’.
The attack was the deadliest in Jerusalem in years and is bound to ratchet up fears of sustained violence in the city, already on edge amid soaring tensions over a contested holy site.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said six people were also wounded in the attack, including two police officers. He said police were searching the area for other suspects.
Source: UK Daily Mail
