US condemns ‘horrific’ East Jerusalem synagogue attack that killed seven

At least seven people were killed in a shooting outside a synagogue in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on Friday, with the gunman killed at the scene, police and medics said.

“Earlier this evening at around 8:30 pm (1830 GMT), a terrorist arrived at a synagogue in the Neve Yaakov boulevard in Jerusalem and proceeded to shoot at a number of people in the area,” a police statement said. “Police forces quickly arrived at the scene, engaged with the terrorist and opened fire at him. The terrorist was neutralized,” it added.

The United States strongly condemned the deadly attack on and voiced solidarity with Israel 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.

Patel said there would be no change in the travel plans of Blinken, who plans to meet with the leaders of Israel, the Palestinian Authority as well as Egypt starting Sunday.

Blinken will discuss “steps to be taken to de-escalate tensions,” Patel said.

Fadi Dekidek, a paramedic with the Magen David Adom emergency response agency, said “this is a very serious terror attack.”

The MDA reported a total of 10 gunshot victims, including a 70-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy.

“I heard a lot of bullets,” Matanel Almalem, an 18-year-old student who lives near the synagogue, told AFP at the scene.