Six dead, six wounded in synagogue attack

JERUSALEM – Two Palestinians stormed a Jerusalem synagogue today, attacking worshippers with knives, axes and guns, and killing four. Police killed the attackers in a shootout.

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 also were wounded in the attack, including two police officers. 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.

“I tried to escape. The man with the knife approached me. There was a chair and table between us … my prayer shawl got caught. I left it there and escaped,” Yossi, who was praying at the synagogue at the time of the attack, told Israeli Channel 2 TV. He declined to give his last name.

Police spokeswoman Lubi Samri said the attackers were Palestinians from east Jerusalem, which has been the scene of relentless clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters.