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Itongadol.- Four Israelis were killed and several others wounded in a terror attack on Tuesday morning in a synagogue in the western Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof.
Two assailants were killed at the scene by police.
Eight people were wounded in the assault, including four seriously, two moderately and two lightly. Magen David Adom ambulances administered first aid to the wounded before evacuating them to hospitals in the city. Five were taken to Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem, and the rest to Shaare Zedek Medical Center.
Israel Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said two assailants entered the synagogue on Tuesday with knives, axes and guns and attacked worshipers. The attackers were killed in a shootout with police. Samri said the attackers were Palestinians from East Jerusalem.
The shooting occured at the Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue on Shimon Agassi St., some 5 kilometers from Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. The Lithuanian synagogue is part of a compound that includes a kolel (a yeshiva for married men) and another synagogue. Residents of the neighborhood said the 6:30 A.M minyan (Jewish prayer quorum) included less people than usual, but there were still dozens of worshipers at the site when the terrorists struck.
The first call to first responders was made at 7:01 A.M. According to police, two terrorists entered the compound and attacked worshippers, who were leaving the synagogue, with guns and axes. Two traffic policemen arrived at the scene separately and were joined by a third police officer. The three engaged in a firefight with the terrorists and killed them. One policeman was critically wounded in the gunfight, and another sustained moderate wounds.
Initially, police suspected there may be a third assailant on the loose in the area, but later stated this was no longer a concern.
Large police forces arrived at the scene after the attack.
Several right-wing protesters gathered near the scene of the attack, calling "Death to Arabs" and "Revenge." In a televised statement to the press, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat urged Israeli citizens not to take the law into their own hands.
Palestinian sources said the suspects were Rassan and Adi Abu al-Jamal, cousins from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal Mukaber. Residents there said large forces of Shin Bet security personnel arrived at there after the attack and entered the suspects\’ family houses. Residents also reported hearing shots of teargas near the houses. They also said a school near the houses was evacuated. Police said dozens of youths threw rocks and blunt objects at security forces at the scene. Nine people have been arrested so far.
Palestinians also reported seeing large security forces in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.
Security forces have been deployed in great numbers along hotspots between east and west Jerusalem. So far there have been no major incidents there.
In the West Bank, however, some 200 Palestinians and 50 settlers clashed between the settlement of Yitzhar and the village of Urif. Israel Defense Forces and Border Patrol units tried to disperse the crowds with gas grenades.
Eliyahu Rotenberg, who resides near the synagogue, described what he witnessed of the attack. "We heard the sirens (of police vehicles) and I went outside and saw police taking cover and shooting. Many shots were fired and I saw one of the police get wounded and the terrorists being killed."
ZAKA Chairman Yehuda Meshi Zahav described the scene inside the synagogue: "I\’ve seen disaster scenes that were a lot worse with more fatalities, but to see Jews with beards and pe’ot (sidelocks) wrapped in teffilin (phylacteries), surrounded by puddles of blood – I do not remember seeing such a sight.”
“This is not a cliché, it’s the reality," he continued. "We have only seen things like this happen in the Holocaust.“
Zahav said three of the dead worshipers were found inside the synagogue and the fourth in the corridor. He also said he saw the two assailants, who were killed in a gunfight with police, at the entrance to the synagogue.