UPDATE 1820 GMT: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the demolition of the homes of the two slain perpetrators of this morning’s attack in a west Jerusalem synagogue, following an emergency Security Cabinet meeting.
Netanyahu also issued instructions to advance the demolition of the homes of the perpetrators of previous attacks, and to increase the enforcement of the law against incitement to terrorism.
UPDATE 1530 GMT: Three of the dead in this morning’s synagogue attack in western Jerusalem had US nationality while the four was a British national.
All had established residency in Israel.
A State Department spokeswoman said, “We can confirm that three US citizens, Moshe Twersky, Aryeh Kupinsky and Cary William Levine were killed in the attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem.”
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a secular Marxist militant group, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The PFLP has recently put out calls for militant attacks via social media, but its not uncommon for the organization to claim responsibility for operations that it may or may not have carried out. Additional groups may claim responsibility over the next 24 ot 48 hours.
Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials praised the attack, calling it revenge for the death of Hassan Yousef Rammouni, a Palestinian bus driver found dead in a Jerusalem bus terminal on Sunday. However, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas criticized the operation in a press release this morning: “The Presidency condemns the attack on Jewish worshippers in their place of prayer and condemns the killing of civilians no matter who is doing it.”
Meanwhile, Uri Maklev, a member of the Knesset involved in the building of the Har Nof synagogue, has called for increased travel restrictions on Palestinians living in East Jerusalem. He asserted, “They came here to kill Jews…to kill them like animals.”
Maklev demande that the Israeli Government revoke work permits for Palestinians working in West Jerusalem, a move that would be challenged by both the Palestinian population of Jerusalem and the left wing of Israeli politics.
Four people have been killed in an attack in a synagogue in western Jerusalem on Tuesday morning.
Eight people were wounded in the assault — four seriously, two moderately, and two lightly.
Two men, apparently armed with a pistol, axes, and knives, entered the Kehilat Yaakov synagogue in Har Nof, a neighborhood which is predominantly ultra-Orthodox Jewish, during Shaharit morning prayers.
Footage of Israeli police confronting the attackers:
Both assailants, reportedly Palestinians from the Jabel Mukaber section of East Jerusalem, were shot and killed by police. The men, named as Said Abu Jamal and Uday Warsan, were cousins who worked in a small grocery store near the synagogue.
A worshiper said the men shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack. Another said:
I tried to escape. The man with the knife approached me. There was a chair and table between us … my prayer shawl got caught. I left it there and escaped.
Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials praised the attack, calling it revenge for the death of Hassan Yousef Rammouni, a Palestinian bus driver found dead in a Jerusalem bus terminal on Sunday. Palestinian media claimed he was lynched because of signs of violence on the body, but an official autopsy said the driver committed suicide.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a Security Council meeting this afternoon. He said in a statement:
This is the direct result of the incitement led by Hamas and Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas]. Incitement that the international community irresponsibly ignores. We will respond with a strong hand to the cruel murder of Jews who came to pray, and were caught by dark murderous hands.
The attack is the latest in a series of violent incidents in Jerusalem in which several Israelis have been killed and in which several Palestinians have been slain by security forces. Until today, however, Har Nof had not been affected.
(Featured Photo: Emil Salman)