PFLP claims responsibility for Jerusalem synagogue attack

A Palestinian left-wing group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), said Tuesday that two of its members were responsible for the deadly synagogue attack in west Jerusalem earlier in the day that left four people dead.

The PFLP said in an e-mailed press statement that the two attackers are members of the group, and that "the attack was a natural response to the Israeli attacks on Jerusalem and on the Palestinians".

Rabah Muhana, a senior PFLP leader from Gaza, said in an e-mailed press statement that "the Palestinians should work hard on making the Israeli occupation of our territories illegal by unifying our efforts and ending the internal Palestinian division".

He called for an end to the security cooperation with Israel and for "intensifying armed resistance together with focusing on the Palestinian diplomacy to end the occupation and gain back the legitimate rights of the Palestinians", Xinhua reported.

However, the Palestinian presidency condemned the attack on the synagogue in Jerusalem, saying it "condemns all kinds of attacks that target civilians regardless of who is behind it".

"There has to be an immediate stop of breaking into al-Aqsa Mosque and an end of the provocations of settlers and incitement of Israeli cabinet ministers. There has to be an end to Israeli occupation, defusing of tension and violence," the presidency said in a statement, adding that the Palestinians were committed to a fair solution based on the two-state principle and respect the understandings reached in Jordan to restore calm in Jerusalem.

Israel Radio, quoting Israeli security sources, identified the two east Jerusalem attackers as Ghassan Abu Jamal and Odai Abu Jamal, both cousins and residents of Jabal al-Mukaber neighbourhood in east Jerusalem.

Security sources also told the radio that the two are members of the PFLP.

Four Israelis were killed and eight injured in a militant attack at a synagogue in west Jerusalem Tuesday. The assailants went from room to room and attacked the Jewish worshippers with guns, knives and axes, police said.