Summary: A Jerusalem synagogue was attacked by two cousins on Tuesday morning, leaving three Americans and one Briton dead.
A Jerusalem synagogue was the scene of an attack committed by two Palestinian cousins. They used meat cleavers and a gun to kill four people during morning prayers, according to The Associated Press.
The attackers were killed in a shootout with police.
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Benjamin Netanyahu said he would “respond harshly” and described the attack as a “cruel murder of Jews who came to pray and were killed by despicable murderers.” He ordered the demolition of the homes of the attackers.
The victims of the attack are three Americans and one Briton and all four held dual Israeli citizenship.
The Americans have been identified as Cary William Levin, Aryeh Kupinsky and Mosheh Twersky.
The Briton has been identified as Avraham Goldberg.
According to CNN, the FBI said it would launch an investigation into the attack because three of the victims are also U.S. citizens.
United States Secretary of State John Kerry told Netanyahu that the attack was an “act of pure terror and senseless brutality and violence.”
Yosef Posternak was at the synagogue when the attack occurred. Posternak said that there were close to 25 people worshiping at the time of the attack.
“I saw people lying on the floor, blood everywhere. People were trying to fight with (the attackers) but they didn’t have much of a chance,” Posternak said.
Yohanan Danino, the Israel police chief, said that the attack was most likely not organized by a militant group.
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“These are individuals who decide to do horrible acts. It’s very hard to know ahead of time about every such incident,” Danino said.
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