MOSCOW, November 19 (Sputnik) — The attack on a West Jerusalem Synagogue killing five and wounding six people on Tuesday cannot be justified, but the Israeli reaction should be moderate, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday.
"Palestinian leaders who believe attacks on Israeli civilians are justified by 'revenge' are deeply mistaken — nothing justifies this terrible attack on Jews praying in a synagogue," HRW Middle East and North Africa director Sarah Leah Whitson stated on the organization's website.
"To reduce tensions in Jerusalem and elsewhere, international leaders should increase pressure on all parties to ensure accountability for crimes… The awful killing of worshipers at a synagogue should serve as an urgent reminder of the need to address the increasing violence impartially and protect all residents in Jerusalem," Whitson added.
Whitson also warned Israel against using excessive force in response, which "only fuels the cycle of abuses."
"The Israeli response to this attack should be limited to those responsible and adhere to the rule of law," the HRW stressed on its website.
On Tuesday five people were killed and six wounded in a terrorist attack, committed by two Palestinian men, brothers Ghassan and Uday Abu Jamal, who gained entry to a synagogue in Jerusalem's Har Nof neighborhood armed with knives and axes. Both terrorists were shot dead by the police.
The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the synagogue killings. Both the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Hamas praised the attack.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the attack and the killing of civilians regardless of who the aggressor was.
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks in Jerusalem in recent weeks, 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.
