Two knife- and axe-wielding Palestinian men broke into a Jerusalem synagogue Tuesday morning and killed four Israeli worshipers, Israeli police said, the CNN reports.
Police responded and shot and killed the attackers, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. He said the men came from East Jerusalem and also had a handgun.
Six others were wounded during the attack in the Har Nof area including two responding police officers, Rosenfeld said. He said the attack took place around 7:15 a.m. while about 10 people were worshiping in the synagogue.
A Hamas spokesman said the attack was a response to the death of a Palestinian bus driver under disputed circumstances. But Hamas did not claim responsibility for the Jerusalem attack Tuesday.
“The operation in Jerusalem is a response to the killing of Yousuf al-Ramouni and the other ongoing crimes by occupiers in Jerusalem,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri posted on Facebook.
Al-Ramouni, an Arab bus driver, was discovered hanged in his bus near Jerusalem on Sunday, generating controversy among Palestinians who reject the police finding of suicide.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned top aides to a “security consultation” later Tuesday in Jerusalem, his office announced.
