Advertisement

France urges talks after Jerusalem attack

AFP
AFP - [email protected] • 19 Nov, 2014 Updated Wed 19 Nov 2014 09:50 CEST
image alt text

French President François Hollande on Wednesday condemned the "terrifying" attack on a synagogue in West Jerusalem, urging Israel and the Palestinians to resume talks seeking peace.

Advertisement

Five Israelis were killed in the rare assault on a place of worship when two Palestinians armed with a gun and meat cleavers ran amok among worshippers on Tuesday, sending shockwaves through the country.

"Yesterday there was an attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem which was particularly terrifying ... and this is unfortunately the trend in terms of what's happening," Hollande said in Australia during a state visit.

"So we must be very clear that we condemn these sort of actions. This is something that occurred in a place of worship.

"We must act to ensure that violence in Jerusalem ceases, and that conditions for resuming talks may finally be such that this dialogue can occur," he added.

Four of the victims were Israelis with dual nationality -- three US citizens and a Briton, police said. Israel's leading ultra-Orthodox website said they were all rabbis.

A policeman also died of his wounds.

More

Comments

AFP 2014/11/19 09:50

Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also