Seven dead as gunmen target Jerusalem religious school

At least seven people were killed when two gunmen entered the dining room of a rabbinical seminary in Jerusalem and opened fire tonight, police and rescue workers said.

Israeli media said about 35 people were wounded. Channel 2 TV said police special forces killed the two gunmen.

Media reports said many people were wounded and hundreds of police surrounded the area and searched the campus.

The gunmen entered a dining hall where about 80 people were gathered, witnesses said, and opened fire.

“There are at least seven killed and 10 people wounded,” said Eli Dein, director of Israel’s rescue service.

The seminar is the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in the Kiryat Moshe quarter at the entrance to Jerusalem, a well-known centre of Jewish studies identified with the leadership of the Jewish settlement movement in the West Bank. Most of the students are high school age.

Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben Ruby said, “One or two terrorists infiltrated the Mercaz Harav seminary and opened fire in all directions. One terrorist was killed in an exchange of fire.”

He said the dead gunman was wearing a vest that at first appeared to be an explosives vest but turned out to be a belt holding extra ammunition.

He said students were being evacuated from the building, and police were searching from room to room.

Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski told Channel 2, “It’s very sad tonight in Jerusalem – many people were killed in the heart of Jerusalem.”

There were no attacks by Palestinian militants in Jerusalem during 2007, though police and the military claimed to have foiled many attempts.

Between 2001 and 2004, at the height of Palestinian-Israeli fighting, Jerusalem was a frequent target of Palestinian attacks, including suicide bombings on buses.

In Gaza City, residents went out into the streets and fired rifles in celebration in the air after hearing news of the attack on the seminary.