Jerusalem ramped up security after two Palestinian cousins wielding a gun and butcher knives attacked a synagogue during morning prayers, killing four worshipers and a policeman.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a strong reaction to Tuesday’s killings. He characterized the attack, which drew condemnation from around the world, as the result of a “blood libel” fanned by Palestinian leaders.
Even after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack, Netanyahu insisted it was “not enough” of a response.
Addressing reporters Tuesday night, the Israeli Prime Minister called for national unity against “those human animals who committed this massacre” and against those — singling out Hamas and the Palestinian Authority — who he claimed “disseminate libels against the state of Israel.”
The terror attack — the deadliest in Jerusalem since 2008 — came at a particularly tense time in region. It follows recent deadly stabbings and vehicle attacks which, while not the same as the large-scale suicide bombings that defined last decade’s second intifada, have left Jerusalem on edge.
At the heart of the unrest is the holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem, known as the Temple Mount by Jews and Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) by Muslims.
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