Two men, cousins from East Jerusalem, entered a synagogue during prayer with knives, axes, and at least one gun. Four people were murdered and a dozen wounded, several of them seriously.
The attacks came during a tense time. Recently, a Palestinian bus driver was found hanged in his bus. The autopsy ruled the death a suicide, but Palestinians, and the Palestinian media, have accused "Jews," though no specific Jews, of a lynching. There is also a great deal of tension around some Israelis' repeated attempts to pray, rather than merely visit, at the Temple Mount/Al Aqsa Mosque. The Israeli government continues to forbid praying there, and has been enforcing that limitation. Palestinian media and Hamas have accused Israel of violating the sanctity of the Mosque. Abbas warned of a "holy war" if it is "contaminated" by Jews. Yes, "contaminated."