MOSCOW, November 18 (Sputnik) — Amnesty International condemned the recent attack at a synagogue in Jerusalem on Tuesday stressing though that Israel's "heavy-handed" response would contradict international law.
“Nothing can ever justify such an abhorrent attack on worshippers in a synagogue. The deliberate killing of civilians must be utterly condemned,” Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International said in a statement published on the organization's website.
The statement comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would "respond with a heavy hand" to the Thursday attack that claimed the lives of four people.
"Punishing the families of suspects by destroying their homes is collective punishment and is prohibited by international law… Authorities must not trample over the rights of Palestinians through collective punishments and other heavy-handed measures in order to restore security," Philip Luther said.
"The Israeli security forces have an obligation to protect the whole civilian population regardless of whether they are Palestinian or Israeli. Instead of stepping up their heavy-handed tactics, the Israeli authorities must ensure that anyone who attacks civilians on either side is held to account," Luther added.
On Tuesday morning, four worshipers were killed and eight wounded in a terrorist attack committed by two suspected Palestinian men with knives and axes at a synagogue in Jerusalem's Har Nof neighborhood. Both terrorists were shot and killed by the police.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has been reported to have claimed responsibility for the attack.
The incident is the latest in a series of terrorist attacks that have been on the rise in Jerusalem recently, amid Israel's decision to boost construction of housing units in East Jerusalem, as well as speculation on Israeli plans to change the status quo of the Temple Mount.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders, as well as a number of high-ranking Western officials have condemned the attack.
