At least eight Israelis were killed Thursday evening when Palestinian gunmen infiltrated the "Merkaz Harav" yeshiva in Jerusalem and opened fire, a senior Israeli police official said. Rescue personnel evacuatied a number of wounded persons, Israel's Channel 2 television reported.
According to various Israeli reports, one armed Palestinian entered the well known yeshiva - a Jewish institution for religious studies. He was later shot dead by an Israeli officer. Israeli media reports conveyed that an explosives belt had been recovered from the body the Palestinian.
In the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, gunmen fired in the air to celebrate the attack. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas official, said the group "blesses the heroic operation in Jerusalem, which was a natural reaction to the Zionist massacre". A loudspeaker in Gaza City blared the message: "This is God's vengeance."
On his part, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the shooting attack. "President Mahmoud Abbas condemns the attack in Jerusalem that claimed the lives of many Israelis and he reiterated his condemnation of all attacks that target civilians, whether they are Palestinians or Israelis," said Abbas aide Saeb Erekat.
Earlier, four Israelis were lightly wounded when a Palestinian rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck a home in the israeli town of Sderot.
