Two Israelis Killed, 160 Injured as Synagogue Bleachers Collapse in Illegal West Bank Settlement

Two people were killed and more than 160 injured when grandstand seating collapsed at a synagogue in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev. 

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The incident occurred in the occupied West Bank outside Jerusalem as hundreds were congregated for the Jewish Shavuot feast on Sunday, an emergency services spokesman told Israeli channel Kan. 

Israel's national medical emergency, disaster, ambulance and blood service, Magen David Adom, revealed the deaths of two people, including a 40-year-old man and a 12-year-old boy.

It said '167 people were evacuated to hospitals, including five seriously injured'.

The structure was 'under construction', a Magen David Adom emergency services spokesman said. 

Images circulating on social media showed the stands collapsing as dozens of men prayed.

'Praying in this building was forbidden,' Jerusalem police commander Doron Tourgeman said at the site.

'My heart goes out to the victims of the Givat Zeev catastrophe,' Defence Minister Benny Gantz wrote on Twitter, adding that army forces were seeking to assist with the evacuation.

The incident comes just weeks after a stampede that killed 45 people at a Jewish pilgrimage site.

The deadly crush in late April at Mount Meron in northern Israel has been described as one of the worst peacetime disasters since the nation's founding in 1948.

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At least 16 children and teens figured among those killed.

Israel's state comptroller earlier this month announced the launch of an investigation into the stampede.'

This article has been adapted from its original source.