The deadly scenes from Jerusalem sparked immediate reaction from around the world. It came with a sense of shock and blame.
The Israeli government strongly condemned the killings and compared the attack to the work of the jihadist militant group ISIL.
“This morning a horrendous terror attack in Jerusalem against innocent worshippers is motivated by the same hatred, by the same Islamist extremism that beheads innocent civilians in Iraq and Syria,” said Israeli Prime Minister Mark Regev.
From Ramallah there were strong words for the Palestinian militants but they were tempered with a reference to attacks on holy sites in Jerusalem.
“We strongly condemn this incident and do not accept under any circumstances attacks on civilians. At the same time we condemn these actions we also condemn the attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque the holy places,” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told reporters.
The area of Al-Aqsa in the old city of Jerusalem is the third holiest site in Islam and has been the focus of renewed tension between Palestinians and Israelis.
