A Palestinian gunman has opened fire outside an East Jerusalem synagogue, killing at least seven people in one of the deadliest attacks on Israelis in years, which comes a day after a deadly raid by Israeli forces.
The attack also wounded five others and was halted when the gunman was shot by police.
The killings took place a day after Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians in a raid in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli rescue service said five people were wounded, including a 70-year-old woman in critical condition and a 14-year-old boy in serious condition.
Israeli police described it as a "terror attack" and said it took place in a synagogue in Neve Ya'akov, considered by Israelis as a neighbourhood within Jerusalem, while Palestinians and most of the international community consider it occupied land illegally annexed after a 1967 Middle East war.
Police said the gunman was "neutralised", a term that typically means he was killed.
There was no official confirmation, however.
Palestinians celebrate in West Bank, Gaza Strip
The attack has underlined fears of an escalation in violence after months of clashes in the West Bank culminating in a raid on Thursday that killed at least nine Palestinians.
There was no initial claim of responsibility for the synagogue attack, which took place as worshippers attended Sabbath services on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but a spokesman for the Islamist movement Hamas said the incidents were connected.
"This operation is a response to the crime conducted by the occupation in Jenin and a natural response to the occupation criminal actions," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said.
The smaller militant group Islamic Jihad also praised the attack without claiming responsibility.
Israeli media said the gunman was a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem but there was no official confirmation.
At several locations across the Gaza Strip, dozens of Palestinians gathered in spontaneous demonstrations to celebrate the Jerusalem attack, with some coming out of dessert shops with large trays of sweets to distribute.
Similar celebrations were reported in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Story by ABC/wires
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