Tensions build around Jerusalem shrine after Syria rocket attack

Jewish women participate in a blessing during the Passover holiday in Jerusalem (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)

Israeli warplanes and artillery struck targets in Syria following rare rocket fire from the country’s north-eastern neighbour, as Jewish-Muslim tensions reached a peak on Sunday at a volatile Jerusalem shrine with simultaneous religious rituals.

Thousands of Jewish worshippers gathered at the city’s Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray, for a mass priestly benediction prayer service for the Passover holiday.