Seven Israelis killed leaving synagogue in East Jerusalem

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Seven Israelis have been shot and killed as they left a synagogue in East Jerusalem, in the latest episode of spiralling violence across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories over the past two days.

A gunman in a car waited on Friday night until Shabbat prayers ended at a synagogue in Neve Yaakov, an Israeli settlement in occupied East Jerusalem, before opening fire on people as they left the building, a preliminary Israeli police probe said.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said medics declared seven people dead at the scene. At least three more are understood to be in critical condition.

The as-yet unidentified attacker was “neutralised” police said. Unconfirmed Palestinian media reports said the gunman was an East Jerusalem Palestinian from the nearby neighbourhood of Shuafat.

The United States strongly condemned the attack which came ahead of a visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “This is absolutely horrific,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

“We condemn this apparent terrorist attack in the strongest terms. Our commitment to Israel’s security remains ironclad, and we are in direct touch with our Israeli partners.”

“We stand with the Israeli people in solidarity,” he said.

Friday night’s shooting is the worst terrorist attack on Israelis in years. It comes in the wake of the deadliest Israeli army raid in the West Bank in two decades on Thursday morning, in which nine Palestinians were killed.

The raid targeting Islamic Jihad militants in the Jenin refugee camp, in the north of the Palestinian territory, triggered tit-for-tat rocket fire between the Gaza Strip and Israel in the early hours of Friday and sparked fears of a wider escalation in the decades-long conflict.

Friday prayers at Jerusalem’s holy al-Aqsa mosque in the Temple Mount complex – often a catalyst for violence – passed without incident before the evening shooting.

Last year was the bloodiest year on record in Israel and the Palestinian territories since 2004, with about 250 Palestinians in the West Bank and 30 Israelis killed. Another 49 Palestinians died in the Gaza Strip in a three-day surprise Israeli bombing campaign in August.

So far this month, 31 Palestinians have been killed.