Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed revenge on the Palestinians responsible for the attack on the Jerusalem synagogue, pledging to demolish the homes of the men involved.
Speaking
just hours after the attack, which claimed the lives of five people, he
said he would 'settle the score with every terrorist', claiming those
who wanted to force the Israeli people out of Jerusalem would not
succeed.
He said: 'We are in a battle over Jerusalem, our eternal capital.'
Tragic: The body of Calman Levine is
lowered into a grave at Jerusalem's Har Hamenuchot cemetery during the
funeral of the four who were killed by Palestinian terrorists armed in a
Jerusalem synagogue today
Heart-breaking:
The men were slaughtered in a dawn attack by two cousins who screamed
'God is great' as they attacked at random. Thousands of people attended
funerals and burials for the victims this evening
Two Palestinians
armed with a cleaver and a gun burst into the synagogue in the Jerusalem
neighborhood of Har-Nof, killing four and wounding several others.
Pictured: One of the victims is buried this evening
Thousands of people turned out for the funerals of the British-born and three American citizens who died
The victims were carried to their graves during the funeral and memorial ceremony in Jerusalem tonight
Grief: Israeli Jews attend the funeral
of Aryeh Kopinsky, Calman Levine and Avraham Shmuel Goldberg near the
scene of the attack at a Jerusalem synagogue this afternoon
However, the Prime Minister warned against members of the public taking their own revenge.
He warned: 'No-one must take the law into their own hands, even if spirits are riled and blood is boiling.'
Addressing the nation, Mr Nethanyahu said: 'We are at the height of an ongoing terror attack focused on Jerusalem.
'This
evening, I ordered the destruction of the houses of the Palestinians
who carried out this massacre and to speed up the demolition of those
who carried out previous attack.'
He
said: 'Citizens of Israel, I call on you to demonstrate great vigilance
and to respect the law because the state will bring to justice all the
terrorists and those who dispatch them.
'It
is forbidden for anyone to take the law into their own hands, even if
tempers are high and even if you're burning with anger."
He
linked the attack to inflammatory statements about the flashpoint
Al-Aqsa mosque compound made by the Palestinian Authority, the Islamist
Hamas movement and Israel's Islamic Movement, a religious advocacy
group.
The close proximity of sensitive sites
for both Jewish and Muslim people in Jerusalem has led to significant
tension and conflict
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nethanyahu warned that Israel would respond to today's synagogue attack
Police launched a major security operation after a demonstration protesting against the attack led to scuffles
Officers were forced to make several arrests during the demonstration on the outskirts of Jerusalem
Some of the protesters waved Israeli flags following today's attack which claimed five victims
Police struggled to keep rival sides apart as Prime Minister Benjamin Nethanyahu called for calm
Known
to Jews as the Temple Mount, the mosque compound is sacred to both
faiths and one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East.
'Hamas, the Islamic Movement and the Palestinian Authority are spreading no end of libels... against the state of Israel.
'They
say that the Jews are defiling the Temple Mount, they say that we are
planning to destroy the holy places there, that we are intending to
change the prayer rites there.
'It's all a lie. And these lies have already cost a very high price..
'Today more victims were added to their number due to this crazy blood libel.'
Thousands of people attended a joint
funeral for Kupinsky, Levine and Goldberg before sundown - held outside
the synagogue where the attack occurred
A joint funeral for Kupinsky, Levine
and Goldberg before sundown (pictured) - the latter held outside the
synagogue where the attack occurred
Mourners gather for the triple funeral of Rabbi Kalman Levine, Avraham Goldberg and Arieh Kupinsky
Mourners gather for the triple funeral of Rabbi Kalman Levine, Avraham Goldberg and Arieh Kupinsky
Israelis and relatives attend the funerals of Aryeh Kupinsky, Cary William Levine, and Avraham Goldberg
Cabinet
Minister Yaakov Peri, former director of the Shin Bet internal security
agency admitted that these types of attacks were incredibly difficult
to defend against.
He
said: 'There is no solution in the world of intelligence to the problem
of a lone wolf who decides in the morning to launch an attack in the
afternoon.'
Several
hours after the attack, several hundred Jewish youths held a
demonstration in Jerusalem where they blocked traffic and chanted 'death
to Arabs'.
Police confirmed that at least ten people were arrested at the scene.
Also, there were reports of clashes outside the home of Oday Abu Jamal, one of the cousins named as a killer.
Police
waiting outside the house were bombarded with rocks and stones. Police
resonded with tear gas and stun grenades before arrested 14 members of
Abu Jamal's family.
Israelis attend the funerals of Aryeh
Kupinsky, Cary William Levine, and Avraham Goldberg - three of the four
people killed in a shooting attack in a synagogue in Jerusalem
Thousands of
people attended a funeral for Twersky this afternoon, which was closely
followed by a joint funeral for Kupinsky, Levine and Goldberg before
sundown outside the synagogue where the attack occurred
Rabbi
Avraham Shmuel Goldberg (left), originally from Liverpool in the UK, has
been named as one of the victims of the synagogue massacre, along with
dual US-Israeli national Rabbi Mosheh Twersky (right) and two other
rabbis
Victim
Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg, described as a 'pillar of the
community', was born in Liverpool. The father of six held a dual
British-Israeli passport.
The
others killed in the attack have been named as Rabbi Moshe Twersky,
Rabbi Arieh Kopinsky, 43, and Rabbi Calman Levine, who were all dual
US-Israeli nationals. The two terrorists were shot dead after the attack
by police.
A fifth man, believed to be an Israeli police officer, also died in today's attack.
Thousands
of people attended a funeral for Twersky at the Torat Moshe yeshiva in
Sanhedria early this afternoon, which was closely followed by a joint
funeral for Kupinsky, Levine and Goldberg before sundown - the latter
held outside the synagogue where the attack occurred.
A
Foreign Office spokesman told MailOnline: 'We are aware of the death of
a dual British-Israeli national in Israel on 18 November 2014.' Eight
people were left injured by the assault, including two police officers.
The
horrific attack at the Kehilat Yaakov synagogue on Agasi Street - the
deadliest in Israel since a Palestinian assailant killed eight students
at a Jewish seminar in March 2008 - follows weeks of rising tensions and
the death of a Palestinian bus driver yesterday that many say is
suspicious.
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was joined by British Foreign Secretary
Philip Hammond, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas in condemning the attack, with Israel's leader
promising a tough response.
He also called for an end to Israeli 'provocations' surrounding a sacred shrine holy to both Jews and Muslims.
US President Barack Obama condemned the 'horrific attack' and urged Israelis and Palestinians to calm tensions.
'At
this sensitive moment in Jerusalem, it is all the more important for
Israeli and Palestinian leaders and ordinary citizens to work
cooperatively together to lower tensions, reject violence, and seek a
path forward towards peace,' Obama said.
Obama
identified the three Israeli-Americans who died in Tuesday's attack by
two Palestinians armed with a gun and meat cleavers as Aryeh Kupinsky,
Cary William Levine and Mosheh Twersky
'There is and can be no justification for such attacks against innocent civilians,' he said.
'The
thoughts and prayers of the American people are with the victims and
families of all those who were killed and injured in this horrific
attack and in other recent violence.'
U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry said he spoke to Netanyahu after the
assault and denounced it as an 'act of pure terror and senseless
brutality and violence.'
One
Canadian was wounded in the attack, said Francois Lasalle, a spokesman
for Canada's Foreign Affairs Department. He declined to provide further
details.
The
assailants, named as cousins Uday and Rassan Abu Jamal, both in their
20s, burst in to the synagogue just before 7am as up to 30 worshippers
gathered for prayers.
The
fanatics used hand guns, axes and cleavers as they rampaged through the
building, sending those inside running for their lives.
Pictures
posted online showed a bloodied meat cleaver at the scene, along with
heavily blood-stained floors and bodies covered in shawls.
Eye
witness Ya'akov Amos said: 'The terrorist moved to within a metre of me
then started shooting. One, two, three, bang, bang, bang. I immediately
hit the ground and tried to protect myself with a prayer stand. He kept
screaming 'Allah hu'Akbar'.
Dr
Joyce Morel, one of the first medics on the scene, spoke of the
gruesome scene he encountered. He said: 'There was a man sitting outside
the synagogue - he was severely injured. He told me he'd been shot and
stabbed. We opened up his shirts and he had a huge gash in his back
where he was stabbed with an axe which went all the way through his
ribs.'
According
to Times of Israel Rabbi Moshe Twersky, the head of Torat Moshe
yeshiva, was one of the American-Israelis killed in the attack.
Twersky
was the elder son of Rabbi Isadore Twersky of Boston, and a grandson of
Modern Orthodox luminary Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.
His
father was a Harvard professor noted for his scholarship on the
12th-century Jewish philosopher Maimonides. He died in 1997
having worked at Harvard for more than 30 years, serving as director of
the Center for Jewish Studies from 1978 until 1993.
Two other victims have been named as Arieh Kopinsky, 43, from Har Nof and rabbi Calman Levine, also from the neighbourhood.
The
fourth victim Mr Goldberg, 68, is a grandfather who lived in Golders
Green in London before moving to Israel and was a regular visitor to the
synagogue.
Friend David Osborne said: 'He was the most wonderful person, a pillar of the community.
‘I was on my way to the synagogue when I heard screams and shots being fired, I knew instantly it was bad.
‘Avraham
prayed there most days for the last ten years or so, he was a devout
Jew with no political agenda. All he wanted was to live a peaceful life.
His family are the nicest people you could meet.’
The horrific attack at the Kehilat
Yaakov synagogue on Agasi Street in West Jerusalem. Much of the recent
violence stems from tensions surrounding the Jerusalem holy site
referred to by Jews as the Temple Mount
A eulogy ceremony takes place ahead of the funeral of Rabbi Moshe Twersky
Ultra-Orthodox Jews carry the body of Mosheh Twersky during his funeral today (also pictured below)
Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jews attend the funeral of Aryeh Kopinsky, Calman Levine and Avraham Shmuel Goldberg in Jerusalem
The victims were killed by two
Palestinian cousins who screamed 'God is great' as they massacred
worshippers at random with meat cleavers, guns and an axe
Yesterday, a congregation member at the Golders Green Beth Hamerdash synagogue said Mr Goldberg was fondly remembered.
The
23-year-old, who would not give his name, said: ‘I’ve seen him when
I’ve gone out to Israel with my family. Every attack is bad but this one
is closer to home.
‘A
father goes out in the morning to pray and never returns. His family
never got a chance to say goodbye. His children will never see him
again.
‘It’s
disturbing that he was killed not for being a Zionist or a soldier, but
simply for being a Jew. He stood out as being very soft and genuine. He
was a very nice man.’
Afterward
the shocking incident there were scenes of chilling celebration as a
woman in Gaza threw sweets into the crowd and masked Palestinian men
posed in triumph with axes - the weapons used in the massacre.
Hamas leader Mushir al-Masri described the slaughter as a 'heroic act'
Israeli Jews pack the windows and
doors inside an apartment house across the street from the synagogue as
they listen to the funeral speeches this afternoon
A Jewish man looks at bullet holes
atthe synagogue during the funerals of Aryeh Kupinsky, Cary William
Levine, and Avraham Goldberg
The horrific attack at the Kehilat
Yaakov synagogue on Agasi Street was the deadliest in Israel since a
Palestinian assailant killed eight students at a Jewish seminar in March
2008
A worshipper staggers out of the synagogue in shock after the brutal terrorist attack
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will 'respond harshly' to the attack
The
two attackers are cousins Uday and Rassan Abu Jamal, close relatives of
a Hamas terrorist who was released in 2011 as part of the exchange deal
for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, according to Israeli
radio.
Ya'akov
Amos, who was inside the synagogue and witnessed the attack, described
how he saw one of the gunmen at point-blank range: 'The first thing I
recall of the incident is seeing a man close to me bleeding through his
prayer shawl.'
'Moments
later the terrorist moved to within a metre of me then started shooting
in the other direction. One, two, three, bang, bang, bang. I
immediately hit the ground and tried to protect myself with a prayer
stand. I was completely in shock. It all happened in a matter of
moments. He kept screaming 'Allah hu'Akbar'.
'I
didn't see his face, but through the gap in the stand I saw him
shooting from almost point blank range. I then stood up and threw the
stand in his direction and simply ran for my life. The man was working
his way round to me, so I just ran.
'I
ran outside with the shooting continuing in the background and screamed
at people 'they're shooting us... call the police!' There were 25 to 30
people praying there. What a shock. It would seem that I know one of
the men that was murdered.
'I
need to think how God protects us. I got to my house ([nearby] in
hysterics. It's a terrible feeling, but we won't give in. We will
continue to pray. They're big heroes killing people from behind.'
The two
attackers are cousins Rassan and Uday Abu Jamal, close relatives of a
Hamas terrorist who was released in 2011 as part of the exchange deal
for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit
A relative of Palestinian cousins Uday
(left) and Ghassan Abu Jamal (right), both in their 20s, shows their
portraits at the family's residence in the east Jerusalem neighbourhood
of Jabal Mukaber
A Palestinian woman scatters sweets as she celebrates with others an attack on a Jerusalem synagogue
Palestinian supporters of The Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine, (PFLP), a small militant group,
dance while waving their flags, after they heard the news of the
shooting
Masked Palestinians hold axes and a gun as they celebrate the massacre of four worshippers
Israeli security personnel run next to the synagogue where two Palestinians killed four worshippers
Israeli police officers secure the area following the attack
Israeli security forces secure the scene following the attack
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will 'respond harshly' to the
attack, which he described as the 'cruel murder of Jews who came to pray
and were killed by despicable murderers', while Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas also condemned the attack.
Eight
were injured in the attack and are being treated at the Sha'are Zedek
and Hadassah hospitals in Jerusalem. One policeman is in a serious
condition, having been shot in the head.
The
attackers 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.
We will return the yearned for quiet and peace to Jerusalem
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'.
The
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a small militant group,
said the cousins were among its members, though it did not say whether
it had instructed them to carry out the attack.
Israel's
Shin Bet intelligence service are questioning relatives of the two
killers to determine the extent of the family involvement in the
attack.
Israel's
Internal Security Minister, Yitzhak Aharonovich, under growing public
pressure as the number of violent incidents continues to rise, speaking
from the scene of this morning's attack said: 'We will be there in Jabel
Mukaber. We will be there in all places. The security services, the
police, the local council, we will do everything to provide security. If
we need more manpower, we will bring more manpower. We will return the
yearned for quiet and peace to Jerusalem.'
He
insisted that the incitement from the Palestinian side prior to today's
incident, including using the pretext of the confirmed suicide of the
Arab bus driver yesterday, is unacceptable.
He
also said he would ease controls on carrying weapons for self-defence
in the wake of the attack. He added: 'In the coming hours, I will ease
restrictions on carrying weapons,' indicating it would apply to anyone
with a licence to carry a gun, such as private security guards and
off-duty army officers.
Israeli Zaka emergency services
volunteers carry the body of a Palestinian assailant who was shot dead
while attacking the synagogue
The scene outside the synagogue following the attack, with police and paramedics in attendance
A wounded Israeli man is taken to an ambulance after his leg was bandaged at the scene of the attack
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.
Much
of the recent violence stems from tensions surrounding the Jerusalem
holy site referred to by Jews as the Temple Mount because of the Jewish
temples that stood there in biblical times. It is the most sacred place
in Judaism.
Muslims refer to it as the Noble Sanctuary, and it is their third holiest site, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
The
site is so holy that Jews have traditionally refrained from going
there, instead praying at the adjacent Western Wall. Israel's chief
rabbis have urged people not to ascend to the area, but in recent years,
a small but growing number of Jews, including ultranationalist
lawmakers, have begun regularly visiting the site, a move seen as a
provocation.
Today's
attack is bound to ratchet up fears of sustained violence in the city,
already on edge amid soaring tensions over a contested holy site.
Israeli
TV footage showed the synagogue, in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox Har Nof
neighborhood, surrounded by police and rescue workers following the
attack.
Dr Joyce Morel, 56, a physician who lives nearby got an emergency call to run to the scene.
He
said: 'I arrived a few minutes after it all started. there was an man
sitting outside the synagogue - he was severely injured. He told me he'd
been shot and stabbed. We opened up his shirts and he had a huge gash
in his back where he was stabbed with an axe which went all the way
through his ribs.
I saw a man stagger out of the synagogue with two bullets wounds in his back
'He
was a young man, in his late 30s, still wearing the teffilin on his
hands from prayer. One of the paramedics slipped on blood in the shul
[synagogue] and broke his leg.'
Witness
Sarah Abrams, 38, who lives a five-minute walk from the synagogue,
told how one of the attackers stabbed a worshipper as he ran inside.
She
said: 'One man was lying on the street, all covered in blood. A
neighbour told me afterwards that she saw the terrorist go into the
synagogue and on the way he stabbed this man as he approached the
synagogue.
'Two people came out with their faces half missing, looking like they'd been attacked with knives.'
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.'
Israeli emergency services personnel clean the sidewalk at the scene of the attack
Israeli emergency personnel with a blood-soaked shirt in the aftermath of the horrific incident
Israeli police officers take position near the scene of the attack
Israeli security personnel search a
religious Jewish Yeshiva next to the synagogue. The attack was the
deadliest in Jerusalem in years and is bound to ratchet up fears of
sustained violence in the city
Israeli security personnel search a religious Jewish Yeshiva next to the scene of the attack
The
attack, the deadliest in Jerusalem in six years, ratcheted up fears of
sustained violence in the city, which is already on edge amid soaring
tensions over its most contested holy site.
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.
Palestinian mourners attend the
funeral of bus driver Yusuf Hasan al-Ramuni in the West Bank town of
Abu Dis. Hamas leader Mushir al-Masri said that the slaughter of the
worshippers was a 'natural reaction' to the death of al-Ramuni
Anger: A group of Palestinians carry the coffin of al-Ramuni
Israel and the Palestinians said then they would take steps to reduce tensions that might lead to an escalation.
Netanyahu blamed the violence on incitement by the Islamic militant group Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel's
police chief said Tuesday's attack was likely not organized by militant
groups, similar to other recent incidents, making it more difficult
from security forces to prevent the violence.
'These
are individuals that decide to do horrible acts. It's very hard to know
ahead of time about every such incident,' Yohanan Danino told reporters
at the scene.
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has joined US Secretary of State John Kerry in condemning the attack.
Speaking in London, Mr Kerry and Mr Hammond called on the Palestinian leadership 'at every single level' to condemn the assault.
'To
have this kind of act, which is a pure result of incitement, of calls
for days of rage, of irresponsibility is unacceptable,' Mr Kerry told
reporters.
'The
Palestinian leadership must condemn this and they must begin to take
serious steps to restrain any kind of incitement that comes from their
language, from other people's language, and exhibit the kind of
leadership that is necessary to put this region on a different path.'
Mr
Hammond added: 'Both sides in this conflict need to do everything
possible to de-escalate the situation and reduce the tension we've seen
in Jerusalem over the past few weeks, which is extremely dangerous for
both Palestinian and Jewish communities in that area.'
Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack, the first time he has
directly denounced violence after weeks of deepening unrest.
'The
presidency condemns the attack on Jewish worshippers in one of their
places of prayer in West Jerusalem and condemns the killing of civilians
no matter who is doing it,' his office said in a statement to Reuters.
Much of the recent violence stems from
tensions surrounding the Jerusalem holy site referred to by Jews as the
Temple Mount (pictured)
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