In a brutal attack, two Palestinians wielding axes, knives and guns on Tuesday stormed a synagogue here and killed four worshippers, including three Americans, prompting Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to vow a “harsh response” to the murders.
He has set the blame for the gruesome attack on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and said that this is the result of the direct incitement being led by Hamas and Abbas. Foreign Minister Avidgor liberman blamed Abbas for turning the conflict into a religious conflict between Jews and Muslims.
Netanyahu also ordered the demolition of homes of Palestinians involved in other recent deadly attacks. Meanwhile, Abbas condemned the deadly attack but at the same time called for an end to what he described as Israeli “provocation” over the Temple Mount, which houses the Al-Aqsa mosque. “The Presidency condemns the attack on Jewish worshippers in their place of prayer, and condemned the killing of civilians no matter who is responsible,” a statement from Abbas’ office said.
Reacting to the terror attack, Israeli Embassy in New Delhi said that the Israeli leadership’s stand echoes and validates the words of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who addressed a joint session of the Australian Parliament earlier on Tuesday, saying “Terrorism is changing in character and expanding in its reach. We need a comprehensive global strategy for a global problem and it will require closer security cooperation; but, even more, a policy of no distinction between terrorist groups or discrimination between nations; a resolve to isolate those who harbour terrorists, willingness to empower states that will fight them; a social movement against extremism in countries where it is most prevalent; and, every effort to delink religion and terrorism.”
Israel called on the International Community to take action and condemn the incitement being led by the Palestinian Authority and President Abbas and to cease its encouragement and support for communal and religious violence such as the massacre in Jerusalem.
“Two terrorists entered the synagogue in the neighbourhood of Har Nof. They attacked with an axe, a knife and a gun. Four worshippers were killed. The police who arrived at the scene shot and killed the two terrorists,” Israel Police spokesperson luba Samri, said.
All the four victims of the deadly attack were Israelis with dual nationality, three of whom were Americans and a fourth British, Israeli police said. “Regarding citizenship, there were three Americans and the fourth was British,” Samri said.
The attack began shortly before 7 am (local time) as worshippers were attending prayers at a synagogue in a Jewish seminary in the Har Nof neighbourhood. At least eight people were wounded in the attack, including two police personnel. The injured were taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center and Hadassah Ein Kerem. Four of them are in a serious condition.
Images from the aftermath of the brutal attack showed prayer shawls lying on the floor in pools of blood. “This is an area with a number of rooms,” rescue services spokesman Zaki Heller said. “The wounded were scattered throughout different rooms and the paramedics who arrived at the scene dispersed to deliver first aid. The wounded were quickly evacuated by ambulance to hospital,” Heller said.
Netanyahu described the attack as a “cruel murder of Jews who came to pray and were killed by despicable murderers”. Palestinian sources named the attackers as Rassan and Uday Abu-Jamal, relatives from the Jabel Mukaber neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. Obama strongly condemned the horrific attack, saying, “There is and can be no justification for such attacks against innocent civilians.” Obama identified the three Israeli-Americans who died in the as Aryeh Kupinsky, Cary William levine and Mosheh Twersky.