Several dead in Jerusalem attack
At least seven people have been killed and 35 more wounded in a shootout at a Jewish school in west Jerusalem.
Witnesses said that an armed man entered the yeshiva, or religious school, and opened fire on Thursday.
The seminary is located in the Kyriat Moshe neighbourhood.
The assailant had reportedly entered a dining hall where about 80 people were gathered, and opened fire.
The school is a well-known centre of Jewish studies linked with those leading the Jewish settler movement in the occupied West Bank.
Shmuel Ben Ruby, Jerusalem police spokesman, said: "One terrorist infiltrated the Mercaz Harav seminary and opened fire in all directions."
"[He] was killed in an exchange of fire, and apparently he had an explosives belt."
Hezbollah claim
Hezbollah's Al-Manar television announced that the perpetrators of the attack were members of the previously unknown "Phalange of Free Men of Galilee - Groups of the Martyr Imad Moghaniyah and Martyrs of Gaza."
The claim was made in a tag line running across the bottom of the screen.
Imad Moghaniyah was a top Hezbollah commander assassinated in a bombing in Damascus, the Syrian capital, on February 12.
The Lebanese Shia Muslim movement blamed the killing on Israel and threatened attacks in revenge.
Israeli denied any involvement in the killing.
Security lapse
Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from the scene, said that questions will be raised as to how the assailants passed through the many security checks situated in the area.
"There are numerous checkpoints throughout the city," he said.
"The deaths will ultimately raise many questions regarding the apparent lapse in surveillance around the school."
A spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry has said that those responsible for the shooting are "killing chances for peace".
"The terrorists attack a school and innocent people," Arye Mekel said.
"They are trying to kill the chances for peace. We will continue our fight against terrorists."
Mekel also said that Israel will continue with US-backed peace talks with the Palestinians despite the shootout.
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, condemned the attack in Jerusalem.
Saeb Erekat, an Abbas aide, said: "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."
Hamas reaction
In the Gaza Strip, people fired in the air to celebrate the attack, which occurred three days after Israel ended a military offensive in the Hamas-run territory that killed at least 120 people.
Hamas labelled the shooting as "heroic".
Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for the Palestinian group, said: "This heroic attack in Jerusalem is a normal response to the crimes of the occupier and its murder of civilians."
Taher al-Nunu, another spokesman, blamed the attack on Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, and Ehud Barak, the defence minister.
"We have warned before about the responsibility of the escalation in Gaza and warned of Palestinian anger," Nunu said.
Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland, reporting from Gaza, said that the atmosphere in the strip is one of elaton and anxiety.
She said: While many have praised the attack, the people of Gaza feel that this incident will not go unpunished."
Rowland also said that the shooting will be a psychological blow to many Israelis.
"There area is a cultural and ideological centre of Jerusalem. People will definately feel vulnerable that an attack took place in a deeply religious area."
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link: _http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/9D9C103A-8E02-45EF-A335-46DB5BAAF766.htm
