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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Violence has flared across Jerusalem and the West Bank after two Palestinian men carried out a deadly attack on a West Jerusalem synagogue, killing four Israelis.

Just hours after the attack, Israeli settlers attacked a school in the village of Urif, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.

Clashes ensued and at least five Palestinians were wounded by rubber-coated steel bullets while others were taken to hospital with tear-gas-related injuries.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Huwwara checkpoint, which allows Palestinians movement into the north of the West Bank, was shut by the Israeli authorities.

Meanwhile, Israeli settlers began attacking Palestinian cars at bypass roads in the Hebron area, south of the West Bank.

Throughout the day, a series of clashes also erupted in and around Jerusalem.

At least 10 Palestinians were wounded in violence near al-Ram, a Jerusalem neighbourhood that has been cut off from the rest of the city by the Israeli separation wall.

Approximately 25 others were wounded in Sur Baher, south of Jerusalem, Palestinian medical sources told Al Jazeera.

Clashes also erupted in Jabal al-Mukaber in occupied East Jerusalem, home of the Abu Jamal cousins who carried out the synagogue attack.

Stabbed in the leg

Ramallah-based rights group Addameer said 10 members of the Abu Jamal family were arrested on Tuesday morning.

They included the parents and wife of Ghassan Muhammad Abu Jamal, and the mother, uncle and brother of Odai Abed Abu Jamal.

In the evening, a Palestinian man was stabbed in the leg in northern Jerusalem, according to Israeli police and Palestinian media reports.

Fadi Radwan was attacked near al-Musrara and taken to Hadassah Hospital, medics said.

Meanwhile, clashes broke out in the neighbourhood of the illegal Psagot settlement near Ramallah, as Israeli military jeeps roamed the outskirts of the city.

Witnesses told Al Jazeera that tear gas was directed at passersby.

Earlier, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, ordered the demolition of the homes of the the Abu Jamal cousins, which troops and vehicles began on Tuesday evening.

Israeli authorities had halted this practice in 2005, after a review committee determined it did not deter future attacks.

However, the tactic was renewed following the killing of three Israeli teens near a West Bank settlement this summer.

In an attempt to defuse tensions, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a statement condemning the killing of civilians on all sides. He also demanded a halt to "raids into Al-Aqsa [mosque]" and "settler provocation".

Palestinians are angry at what they say are repeated attempts by right-wing Jews to extend their influence at the Muslim-run compound housing the mosque.

No to 'religious war'

Nimmer Hammad, an Abbas aide, said the attack on the synagogue in Jerusalem was "unacceptable".

"At the same time, we believe that if the Israeli government is genuinely interested in rectifying the situation, then it must work to stop all violations by Israeli settlers and Knesset members who go into Al-Aqsa practically every time accompanied by the army."

In its weekly meeting, the Palestinian cabinet said the ongoing violence should not be turned into a religious war, and that holy places should be protected.

The cabinet also called on the international community to take immediate action to protect Palestinians against continued Israeli settler attacks.

Approximately 1,400 Palestinians in Jerusalem have been detained since the murder of Palestinian teen Mohammad Abu Khdeir by Israeli settlers in July, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society.


*Al Jazeera