As it happened: Jerusalem synagogue attack

Many Palestinians believe Israel is preparing to allow Jews to pray in the compound of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site for Muslims after Mecca and Medina. The Israeli government has denied that emphatically. But Palestinians listen to calls from hard right-wing Jewish nationalists and believe it might happen.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called for Palestinians to defend al-Aqsa. For Palestinians that sounds reasonable. The Israeli government has condemned it as incitement to terrorism. Both Palestinians and Israelis are now talking about a third Palestinian uprising - or intifada. It's too early to say one has started. But in the absence of political action to stop the violence escalating, another intifada is a distinct possibility.

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UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has issued a statement condemning the Jerusalem attack and urging leaders to address the situation there. He added that "clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli security forces continue on a near daily basis in many parts of East Jerusalem and the West Bank." Mr Ban said he condemns "all acts of violence against civilians".

Talie in Har Nof neighbourhood emails: It is very upsetting and scary. I had a number of phone calls in a few minutes from people asking if I was okay and telling me what had happened. Then I heard ambulances and helicopters. I worked with Rabbi Goldberg's daughter, and I knew his wife so I went to the funeral this afternoon. The community is devastated. The atmosphere is very tense. I want to live in peace but who can we trust?

Earlier on Tuesday stone-throwing Palestinian youths took to the streets of Nablus in the West Bank after the synagogue attack.

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As horrifying as this incident was, I do not think many people in this city were incredibly surprised by it. More than anything there is a sense of hopelessness here after the failure of peace talks, with no road map or talks. We are hearing a lot of fighting talk, but not a lot of peace talk by either the Israeli or Palestinian leaders to try to de-escalate the tensions.

tweets: Netanyahu to world leaders: I want to see you shocked. I want to hear clear denouncements

tweets: .@IsraeliPM Netanyahu press conference: We are in the middle of a terror wave focused on Jerusalem. #Israel

In a press conference, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised "he will deal harshly with this" in reference to Tuesday's attacks. He said he would strengthen security in the streets and had demolished the homes of the attackers.

tweets: Netanyahu: What is most shocking is not just massacre, but cries of joy in Gaza & Bethlehem.

tweets: Netanyahu: the beasts that committed this crime came loaded with hatred. Hamas, the PA and the islamic Jihad are spreading lies about Israel

What led to the deadly attack in Har Nof? It follows months of unrest and apparent revenge killings, as our video explains.

Rabbi Yehoshua Looks says in an opinion piece published in Haaretz: "Despite the chaos that sometimes surrounds us, we [immigrants to Israel] have never thought of leaving". The Israeli-American dual national added: "How can one leave one's home?"

"Axes, knives and guns pierce the heart of a once peaceful community", the Jerusalem Post reports on the moment the attackers stormed the synagogue.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to deliver a televised statement about the attack in the next couple of minutes.

tweets: 12 hours after the ruthless attack in #Jerusalem synagogue 5 people are still hospitalized.

The deeply religious overtones of the attack have shocked many. Graphic photos from the synagogue show religious books, straps and prayer shawls covered in blood.

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A map showing the location of the Kehilat Yaakov synagogue in the Har Nof district of West Jerusalem.

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Residents of the Har Nof neighbourhood fear for their personal safety in the wake of the synagogue attack, AP reports. The agency quotes one man injured in the attack who said that his sense of security had been left in tatters.

"Everyone needs to carry a gun.... Personally I think I will need to carry a weapon," Yitzhak Heshing said.

The synagogue where the attack took place has reopened for prayers, Israel's Ynet website reports.

Michelle Hirschfield, the cousin of Avraham Goldberg, has told the BBC that her relative was murdered simply because he was Jewish. She added: "I remember his big smile, I remember his love of life, his concern for people, for his own family, greater family, and for the world at large. And it's a very sad loss."

tweets: I am outraged by the disgraceful act of terror at a Jerusalem synagogue. I will continue to #StandWIthIsrael in its fight against terrorism.

The funerals of Aryeh Kupinsky and Cary William Levine, both Israeli-American, and British-Israeli Avraham Goldberg have also been attended by thousands. Their three coffins were displayed next to each other.

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A mass procession is setting off from the centre of Ramallah "in solidarity with Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem", Hamas-run Al-Quds TV reports - via BBC Monitoring.

tweets: The attack today on Jews praying at a synagogue in Jerusalem is horrific. My prayers are with the victims of this senseless violence.

Palestinian news agencies are reporting that the Israeli army has entered the city of Ramallah in the West Bank. There are also unconfirmed reports that at least one person has been arrested.

tweets: All those killed in synagogue all lived on same street in Jerusalem's Har Nof neighborhood. Leave 4 widows, 24 children between them #Israel

The attack occurred in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood that has a large population of English-speaking immigrants. Thousands reportedly turned out for the funeral of Rabbi Moshe Twersky on Tuesday.

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Israel's permanent representative to the UN, Ron Prosor, told CNN that in less than a month, Israel has suffered six terror attacks. He added: "Israelis can't even find sanctuary in the sanctuary of a synagogue."

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Amos Shapir in Kiryat Ono,Israel emails: This conflict is unique in that each side perceives the other as temporary; each side expects the other to simply disappear. There is no will to strive towards a peaceful solution, since the other side will be gone soon anyway! This is not just wishful thinking, it is a working assumption and a plan of action, to which all national resources of finances, effort and human lives are dedicated.

Reports are coming in that a Palestinian worker in West Jerusalem has been stabbed in the leg by three Israelis and taken to hospital.

Russia has urged both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to "rein in extremists whose actions threaten to explode the situation entirely", its foreign ministry says - via AFP.

Israeli security forces fired tear gas after clashing with Palestinians near the West Bank city of Ramallah in the wake of the Jerusalem attack.

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Tom from Israel emails: I am a 17-year-old student. Peace is needed immediately. I think if we need to give the Palestinians land, we should! I am speaking for a lot of people here. We are getting hurt - both Jews and Palestinians, and it should stop!

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tweeted confirmation that he ordered the demolition of the attackers' homes and vowed that "enforcement" against terrorists would be increased.

US President Barack Obama says he strongly condemns Tuesday's attacks in a White House statement. He added: "There is and can be no justification for such attacks against innocent civilians," though he urged both sides to reject violence "at this sensitive moment in Jerusalem".

Israeli-based media outlet Ynetnews says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will make a statement on Tuesday evening at 19:30 local time (17:30 GMT)

Michelle Hirschfield, the cousin of British-Israeli Rabbi Abraham Goldberg, said he might have known his killers, the Press Association reports.

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The funeral of Rabbi Moshe Twersky was held just hours after Tuesday's attack.

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Tuesday's attack has set a deadly precedent as it represents a new type of perpetrator, namely East Jerusalem residents who know their targets well, Anshel Pfeffer writes for Haaretz. "Incredible as it may sound, Tuesday morning's terror attack... was the first of its kind in living memory on a local synagogue," Mr Pfeffer adds.

The Jerusalem Post reports that Hamas-affiliated social media has been awash with cartoons glorifying the killings and claiming they were in defence of al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

tweets: Fateh sources tell me 'this #Jerusalem War will be bloody and will go for a long time.'

Meanwhile violence has erupted in other parts of Israel. In the northern city of Nablus in the West Bank, clashes broke out between Israeli police and Palestinians. According to local media, stones were thrown and rubber bullets fired.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the demolition of the two Palestinian attackers' homes after meeting with top security officials, AP and the Jerusalem Post reports.

tweets: We're in crisis mode: Netanyahu to make statement to country tonight, followed by questions. First time since Gaza operation in summer.

There are reports that a Canadian-Israeli dual citizen was among the eight people injured in the attack. Canada's CTV News says a 53-year-old man, who is yet to be identified, was in surgery as a result of the attack.

Jerusalem has been on edge in recent weeks after a spate of deadly attacks by Palestinian militants against Israelis in the city.

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Jonathan Benaim emails: I am a final year university student in London. I am a pupil of Rabbi Moshe Twersky having studied with him for a year. Words cannot do justice as to how righteous a man he was. Not only did he die because of his religion, more significantly, he was able to live every moment for it. The world has suffered a terrific loss.

Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni tells BBC World that the situation within the country should be treated as a national conflict, not an "unsolvable" religious one. She added that the government would respond to Tuesday's attack in accordance with Israeli law.

Some have celebrated the cousins' actions. Palestinian radio called the assailants "martyrs" and they were praised over loudspeakers at mosques in Gaza.

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US Secretary of State John Kerry has discussed the attack with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders via telephone, AP reports.

He offered his condolences to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reportedly urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to de-escalate the tension.

There are some conflicting statements from Israeli officials over the attack, the Jerusalem Post reports. It says the head of Israel's national Shin Bet security service, Yoram Cohen, denied that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was openly encouraging "terrorism" - a claim made by PM Netanyahu in the wake of the attack. However, Mr Cohen did reportedly concede that some may interpret Mr Abbas's statements as encouragement to terrorists. He was addressing a parliamentary defence and foreign affairs committee called to discuss the attack.

Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, has condemned Tuesday's attack. He told reporters: "We condemn all the attacks on holy sites, and we think and believe that it is not right. We have also condemned the attack by Israeli soldiers on the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Unfortunately we are in a vicious cycle here."

The predominately Arab Jabal Mukaber neighbourhood, home to the two assailants, has been under Israeli control since 1967. Over the past few years several of its residents have been involved in anti-Israeli violence. The Mercaz Harav gunman hailed from the neighbourhood.

One man examines a bullet hole in a drape covering the ark - a cupboard where the Torah Scrolls are kept - inside the synagogue that came under attack

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Monday's attack was the deadliest in Jerusalem since the Mercaz Harav shooting in March 2008 when a lone Palestinian gunman shot dead eight students at a Jewish religious college.

Daniel Seidermann, a lawyer living in West Jerusalem, has described it as a divided city, speaking to BBC Newshour.

"The only place that Jerusalem is undivided is in the imagination of right-wing ideologues. Jerusalem is separate. On a weekly basis for the last 23 years I have been visiting the Palestinian neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem, they're now off limits for me because it's too dangerous. Israelis do not venture into East Jerusalem, Palestinians rarely venture into West Jerusalem."

All four funerals are to be held on Tuesday. Many people have turned up to pay their respects to Rabbi Moshe Twersky, whose funeral is currently under way.

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One of the worshippers at the Kehillat Bnei Torah synagogue, Yosef Posternak, said some 25 people were praying there when the attack began.

"I looked up and saw someone shooting people at point-blank range. Then someone came in with what looked like a butcher's knife and he went wild," Yosef Posternak told Israeli radio - via Reuters.

tweets: Today's terror attack against worshipers is fueled by the same extreme Islamist ideology that's behind the brutal beheadings in Syria & Iraq

Michelle Hirschfield emails: My cousin Rabbi Abraham Goldberg born and brought up in Liverpool and then lived and worked in London before going with his family to live in Israel. He leaves a widow and six children, many grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was aged 68. I heard the news this morning so texted my cousin to check he was OK. When I heard nothing back, I called my sister who lives nearby. She tried calling him too but when she got no reply she went to the house. Abraham's son was there - very distressed. He said his mum had gone to the synagogue to get more information. After a while, my sister called me to say that he had indeed been killed. He was a peaceful man, not politically involved. He only wanted peace.

Hundreds are attending the funeral of one of the victims of the attack - 59-year-old Rabbi Moshe Twersky, Haaretz reports. Twersky is the son of a renowned rabbi and grandson of one of the founders of modern Orthodox Judaism.

tweets: Police have shut down large swaths of E.Jeru in fear of riots. Many here are keeping kids home from school out of fear of revenge attacks.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev tells the BBC that the Palestinian leadership has played a role in inciting Tuesday's violence.

"If we want to solve this problem, one of the most important things that we can do is deal with the culture of violence and hatred," he says.

"Hamas this morning embraced and praised this brutal murder. That shouldn't come as a surprise... The question is what has mainstream Palestinian leadership been doing? Have they been fighting this sort of extremism or have they been forming an alliance with this sort of extremist?" He says that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who agreed to form a unity government with Hamas earlier this year, is "on the wrong side of this divide".

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Israeli police officers continue to comb the area at a Jewish seminary near the scene of the attack

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Local resident Sarah Abrahams was walking past the synagogue when the attack happened.

"There were people running from the synagogue, and a man sitting on the pavement covered in blood," she tells AFP news agency.

An earlier version of this entry mistakenly identified the place of worship as a mosque.

Some background on East Jerusalem: Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since capturing it from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war. It annexed the area in 1980 in a move that was not recognised internationally. Palestinian residents have long complained of discrimination, and blame increasing tension on the growing number of Jewish settlers moving to the area.

The BBC's Yolande Knell has written a report about the rising tensions.

Asaf Ronel, world news editor at Israel's Haaretz newspaper, tweets: 11 family members of the attackers arrested. Their uncle to @haaretzcom: they weren't members of any organization. it was unexpected

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesman, Rupert Colville, urges Israel to act with restraint.

"Israel has a duty to ensure law and order, including by bringing to justice those responsible for these attacks on civilians, but any response must be in accordance with international law," he says in quotes carried by Reuters.

"We urge Israeli authorities to refrain from taking measures such as punitive demolitions which violate international law and may further inflame the situation."

A member of the Israeli emergency services cleans the ground outside the synagogue where the attack took place.

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Yasmine Markovitz emails: This morning I had to think if it was safe to send my child to nursery. I asked my husband to pray at home instead of synagogue all whilst we hear police cars, ambulances and helicopters overhead attending to the tragic scene of a terror attack in the residential neighbourhood in which four of our siblings and their own respective families live.

Names and details of the four victims of today's attack have been provided to the BBC by the Jerusalem municipality. The victims are:

Moshe Twersky, 59, dual Israeli-US citizen

Arieh Kupinsky, 43, dual Israeli-US citizen

Kalman Levi, 55, dual Israeli-US citizen

Avraham Goldberg, 68, dual Israeli-UK citizen.

The mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, has condemned the attack. "Entering a synagogue with a butcher knife and slaughtering the people who are praying, human beings don't do that. The terrorists who targeted Jerusalem today are not human beings," he tells journalists.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz tweets: All four fatalities in #Jerusalem terror attack held British or American citizenship htz.li/Q7

Imtiaz Tyab, al-Jazeera reporter, tweets: PFLP supporters in Gaza distribute sweets in neighbourhoods ruined during the 50-day war in "celebration" of attack on W. Jerusalem synagog

Sabri Saidam, political adviser to the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, tells the BBC: "Tensions have been mounting because Israel has been pushing for more annexation of land, confiscating more homes and has been working vividly to build more and more settlements.

"As you know this formula is totally unsustainable and infuriates the Palestinians and creates the scenes that we saw today."

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Malissa, Jerusalem, Israel emails: Both the Israeli and Palestinian governments are to blame for this situation, despite the many attempts by propaganda on both sides to make us think differently. This situation will not begin to improve unless both sides let go of their absurd 'eye for an eye' mentalities, and take real steps to show they want peace.

Some of the relatives of the suspects have praised the attack.

One relative, Abu Salah, told AP news agency: "We heard that an attack took place in Jerusalem and thanks to the mighty God we are proud because this is the least we can do and give to Jerusalem."

Another relative, who was not named, told AP: "We fully support such an operation. We, the Abu Jamal family, salute all our young people in Jerusalem and we tell them to continue this path."

Israeli police have rounded up the suspect's family members in Jabal Mukaber, sparking clashes with stone-throwing youths, relatives tell AP news agency.

Police told AP they had arrested nine suspects.

A relative holds up photos of Uday and Ghassan Abu Jamal, the suspected assailants in Tuesday's attack.

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Gregg Carlstrom tweets: Israeli police laying out concrete blocks to cut roads in Jabal al-Mukaber, the home of today's attackers. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2t9P1vCcAAgxjd.jpg

BBC Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen says the nature of recent attacks in Jerusalem - the use of cars, axes and knives - shows that because of Israeli security measures, the attackers don't have bombs.

An Israeli woman cries on a veranda next to the synagogue where the attack took place.

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There have been several deadly attacks and clashes in Jerusalem recently amid tension over a disputed holy site. You can read more background, features and analysis about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in our special report on the Middle East crisis.

A quick recap: At least four Israelis have been killed and eight injured after two men armed with a pistol, knives and axes attacked a West Jerusalem synagogue - the deadliest attack in Jerusalem in six years.

Both Hamas - the Islamist group that controls Gaza - and another militant group, Islamic Jihad, have praised Tuesday's attack.

A masked Palestinian in Gaza hands out sweets to celebrate the attack on the Jerusalem synagogue.

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Israel is to ease controls on carrying weapons for self-defence in the wake of Tuesday's attack, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch says.

The new rules would apply to anyone with a licence to carry a gun, such as private security guards and off-duty army officers, he added in remarks broadcast on public radio.

An ultra-Orthodox Jew prays near the scene of the attack.

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The funeral of Rabbi Moshe Twersky, who was killed in the attack, will take place later on Tuesday, the Jerusalem Post reports.

Mr Twersky lived in the Har Nof neighbourhood, close to the site of the attack, and was the elder son of famous rabbi and author Rabbi Yitzhak Twersky, the post adds.

Jacob Sack emails: Things are tense here in the city, not many people showed up at the synagogue today.

Rabbi Moshe Twersky, 60, head of the seminary, has been confirmed as one of those killed during the attack.

Dan Shapiro writes on his Facebook account: Murdering worshippers at prayer in a synagogue is an act if pure, unadulterated evil. On behalf of the United States government and the American people, I condemn this terrorist attack in the strongest possible terms. There is no possible justification for such an act of violence.

There'll be a chance to ask BBC Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen @BowenBBC about the synagogue attack on BBC Outside Source @BBCOS on the BBC World Service at 11:30 GMT.

tweets: They were mopping up the blood as we arrived. "They shot them in the back", an eyewitness tells us.

"If Israel accepts immediately to end the occupation and allow Palestinians to be free in a state of their own, we will have peace for everybody. But Israel cannot have security for itself and no security for the Palestinian side," Mr Barghouti adds.

Mustafa Barghouti from the Palestinian Legislative Council tells the BBC that Israel is "responsible for the bloodshed".

"In this case, it is the Israeli government that provoked the Palestinians in this terrible manner," he said, adding that more than 2,000 Palestinians had been killed by the Israeli army and Israeli settlers this year.

Most of the deaths occurred during the Israel-Gaza conflict over July and August.

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Micky Rosenfeld, Israeli police spokesman, tweets: Scene from terror attack at Jerusalem synagogue. Police officer in critical condition after shoot out with terrorists http://t.co/tH27XnGx78

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This is the deadliest attack the city has seen for many years.

Israeli police have moved into the East Jerusalem neighbourhood where the two attackers came from. We understand that some of their relatives have been arrested. There have been further protests in the area in response to that.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld tells the BBC: "The investigation is continuing to see where exactly the terrorists came from - we know they came from East Jerusalem. Heightened security is now being implemented in public areas, central bus stations and the live railway area."

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev tells the BBC that "extremist" Islamists have been using "irresponsible, inflammatory language" despite the fact that Israel will not allow the status quo on the Temple Mount to change.

Israeli emergency services members clean the side of a car at the scene of the attack.

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Philip Hammond tweets: Condemn absolutely appalling violence in #Jerusalem. Call on leaders to make clear global abhorrence at this attack

The PFLP is a far-left-wing Palestinian nationalist group. It remains one of the main Palestinian factions and its militants have been behind many previous attacks on Israelis.

The Palestinian position has been that the issue of the al-Aqsa mosque and announcements about settlements have all added fuel to the fire here.

The breakdown of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians in April created a political vacuum, and now it seems it has been filled by violence.

David Cameron tweets: I'm appalled by today's horrific attack on worshippers at a Jerusalem synagogue. My thoughts are with the victims' families.

Mr Hammad would not say whether Hamas supported the attack, but said Israel was to blame for the tensions. "We did not see any effort, any action from the Israeli government in order to stop the settlers, in order to stop the radical religious men when they decided to attack the al-Aqsa mosque."

Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hammad tells the BBC most people in Jerusalem "expected this would happen today or tomorrow, because every day Jerusalem is boiling. Every day, there is a crime against Palestinian citizens in either al-Aqsa mosque or in Jerusalem as a city".

tweets: Police: The autopsy of the Arab bus driver conclusively concluded he committed suicide. There were no other marks of violence on his body.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz is reporting that the two attackers were from the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Jabal Mukaber.

Residents there told Haaretz that security personnel arrived after the attack and entered the suspects' homes. They also said they heard teargas being fired near the houses.

Moishe Halibard emails: I tried to contact a friend of mine who prays there, and finally got through to him. He was present at the time of the attack, and managed to escape quickly, unharmed. We don't yet know who was killed and injured, and I fear that I may know some of the victims.

Tweets: PHOTO Scene of Jerusalem attack. Police rule out 3rd attacker. All wounded in hospitals.

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"I tried to escape," an Israeli who was in the synagogue has told Channel 2 television. "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."

For more on what makes Jerusalem so holy - to Christianity, Islam and Judaism - take a look at this explainer by the BBC's Erica Chernofsky.

A key source of tension in Jerusalem has been the renewal of an ancient dispute over the rights of prayer at a key holy site, known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as the Temple Mount. By long-standing convention, Muslims alone have the right to pray there, but some religious Jews have been campaigning to end that monopoly of worship.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld tweets: Police heightened security continues in Jerusalem. Riots in Jabel mukaber. Police arrest 9 rioters at the scene

Israel News Feed tweets: Chief Rabbi announced every synagogue must now have an armed guard at the entrance, it's forbidden to pray where there isn't one.

The bus driver was found hanged inside his vehicle, in an area of Jerusalem close to Jewish settlements and Palestinian neighbourhoods. Israeli police say the driver killed himself, but his family said they thought he'd been murdered by Jewish settlers, and a fellow bus driver said there were signs of violence on his body. His death provoked protests by Palestinians.

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Palestinian militant group Hamas has described the attack as revenge for the death of Palestinian bus driver Yusuf Hassan al-Ramuni, AFP news agency reports.

Tensions in Jerusalem have risen in recent weeks. There have been two deadly attacks by Palestinian militants on pedestrians in the city, including on Rabbi Yehuda Glick, a leading campaigner.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has issued a statement: "The presidency condemns the attack on Jewish worshippers in their place of prayer and condemns the killing of civilians no matter who is doing it."

Israeli security personnel search a Jewish seminary next to the synagogue where the attack took place.

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Sharona Maynard emails: I'm an American student studying in Israel for the year and my campus is a one minute walk from the attack. Our whole school is on lockdown and there is a feeling of horror and unrest throughout the students. This attack not only affects those at the scene but the entire Har Nof and our families around the globe. The terrible incidences all around Jerusalem have been hard enough and now we have this right around the corner. This has to stop.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said the attack was an "act of pure terror and senseless brutality and violence." He has called for Palestinian leaders to condemn it "in the most powerful terms.''

"We condemn violence and it is absolutely regrettable and unfortunate what has happened this morning in Jerusalem, and what has been happening in Jerusalem over weeks and months," Hussan Zumlot, a senior adviser for Fatah, which governs the West Bank, tells the BBC.

Israeli security forces secure the scene after the attack.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweets: We will respond with a heavy hand to the brutal murder of Jews who came to pray and were met by reprehensible murderers.

There are unconfirmed local reports that a police officer wounded in an exchange of fire with the attackers later died from his injuries.

The attack happened at a religious seminary site on Harav Shimon Agassi Street - a largely orthodox area in Jerusalem's Har Nof neighbourhood. Both attackers - said to be Palestinian cousins from East Jerusalem - were shot dead, police say.

Two men armed with a pistol, axes and knives have attacked a synagogue in West Jerusalem, killing at least four people. Follow our live coverage for all the latest news and developments.