Authorities say two Palestinians killed four men during a knife attack in a Jerusalem synagogue. Police responding to the attack on the worshippers shot and killed the men, who were armed with knives, an ax and a handgun. Six others were wounded, including two police officers. The Israeli police department released the identities of the four victims: They were all rabbis; one of them held dual Israeli-British citizenship, and the three others were Israeli-American citizens. Because the attack involved the death of U.S. citizens, the FBI has said it will also join the investigation.
After the attack, police moved into the neighborhood where the attackers had lived, arresting nine people after a clash with residents. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement on Twitter saying, “We will respond with a heavy hand to the brutal murder of Jews who came to pray and were met by reprehensible murderers.” Though they did not claim responsibility for the synagogue attack, Hamas has said it was retaliation for the recent death of a Palestinian bus driver who, as CNN explains, died “under disputed circumstances.” In a statement, Secretary of State John Kerry said, “Our hearts go out to all Israelis,” adding, “People who had come to worship God in the sanctuary of a synagogue were hatched and hacked and murdered in that holy place in an act of pure terror and senseless brutality and murder” …
