AKIPRESS.COM - At least four worshippers were killed in an attack on a west Jerusalem synagogue, police said Monday.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said six people were wounded in the assault, which was described as a "terrorist attack" by the authorities. Samri said the attackers were Palestinians from east Jerusalem, reports Associated Press.

Two assailants entered the synagogue on Tuesday with knives, axes and guns and attacked worshippers. The attackers were killed in a shootout with police.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will "respond harshly" to the attack. He called the attack a "cruel murder of Jews who came to pray and were killed by despicable murderers."

Netanyahu blamed the violence on incitement by the Islamic militant group Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Netanyahu said the international community regularly ignores incitement by Islamic militants in Israel.

Abbas condemned the attack. He said it was wrong for either side to kill civilians.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, wrote in a post on Facebook that the incident in Jerusalem was a reaction to Israeli "crimes" and called for further attacks and bloodshed to take place.

Secretary of State John Kerry, who is on his way to Vienna for nuclear negotiations with Iran, said Tuesday's attack was an "act of pure terror and senseless brutality and violence."

The violence comes amid high tensions in the city, with a wave of attacks by Palestinians on Israelis killing at least six people in recent weeks.

On Monday, a Palestinian bus driver was found hanged in his vehicle. Israeli police said the death was a suicide, citing autopsy results. Palestinians suspect foul play, which has led to protests.