Four worshippers praying inside a Jerusalem synagogue were
killed by two Palestinians who burst into the building armed with knives, axes
and guns before being shot dead by police.
Eye witness Yossi, who was inside the synagogue during the terror
attack this morning, said: 'A little before seven o'clock in the middle of
prayers we heard shooting and two attackers stormed in shouting 'Allah
hu'Akbar' [Arabic for 'God is Great']. There were shouts and screams. I was
towards the rear of the synagogue about 10 metres from the exit and tried to
get out when one of the terrorists appeared opposite me holding a knife.
'There was a table and a chair between us. He tried to stab
me. I saw him starting to move to his right and a moved the other way and managed
to run to the door then as I got outside I found a man on the ground full of
blood. I got out and called the police. I thank God that I got out. There were
probably between 20 and 30 people inside the synagogue for morning prayers at
the time, less than usual. '
They are aged 22 and 27 and from the Jabal Mukaber district
of East Jerusalem, which has been the scene of relentless clashes between
Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in recent months. 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'. It is not known if they were members of any militant
groups. Israel's Shin Bet intelligence service are questioning
relatives of the two killers to determine the extent of the family involvement
in the attack. In a statement, Hamas praised the synagogue attack as a
'heroic act', saying it was a 'response to continued Israeli crimes, the
killing, desecrating al-Aqsa (mosque),' a reference to a recent incident at the
holy site. It also called for a continuation of 'vendettas'.
Hamas leader Mushir al-Masri said that the slaughter of the
worshippers was a 'natural reaction' to the death of 32-year-old Palestinian
bus driver Yusuf Hasan al-Ramuni, who was found hanged in his vehicle on
Sunday.
Police said there was no evidence of foul play, blaming his
death on suicide, with their findings backed up by a post-mortem.
But colleagues and family said there were signs of violence
on his body, claiming he was murdered.
And the Palestinian pathologist who attended the post-mortem
also ruled out suicide, suggesting he may have been drugged then strangled, the
family's lawyer said.
Thousands attended his funeral late on Monday, some of them
calling for revenge.
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. One of them is reportedly
in a critical condition after being shot in the head. He said police were
searching the area for other suspects.
Israeli TV footage showed the synagogue, in Jerusalem's
ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighborhood, surrounded by police and rescue workers
following the attack.
Eye witness Menahem Cohen, who saw the attack happen from
his apartment directly opposite the building, said: 'I saw a man stagger out of
the synagogue with two bullets wounds in his back, blood was running down, and
he appeared to be in complete shock.
'Very quickly the police arrived and took positions at
different angles around the building. Then I saw one of the attackers come out
of the building holding a meat cleaver, and as he came out he was shot from
different angles by the police and he fell to the ground.' The
attack comes amid spiking tensions in Jerusalem, which has seen a spate of
attacks by Palestinians against Israelis. At least six people have been killed
in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Tel Aviv in recent weeks, prior to Tuesday's
casualties.
Jerusalem residents have already been fearful of what
appeared to be lone wolf attacks using cars or knives against pedestrians. But
Tuesday's early morning attack on a synagogue harkens back to the gruesome
attacks during the Palestinian uprising of the last decade.
Tensions appeared to have been somewhat defused last week
following a meeting by Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
and Jordan's King Abdullah II in Jordan. The meeting was an attempt to restore
calm after months of violent confrontations surrounding a sacred shrine holy to
both Jews and Muslims.
Via.daily mail
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