Jerusalem: At least four Israelis have been killed and eight injured when two men with a pistol, knives and axes attacked a West Jerusalem synagogue, police say.

The attackers – Palestinians from East Jerusalem – were shot dead,police say.

Jerusalem has seen tensions between Israelis and Palestinians soar, with a string of deadly attacks and clashes over a disputed holy site.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to respond “with a heavy hand to the brutal murder”.

“This is a direct result of incitement led by Hamas and [Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, known as] Abu Mazen, incitement that the international community has been irresponsibly ignoring,” he said in a statement.

Hamas and Mr Abbas’s Fatah party – both rival Palestinian factions – agreed to form a unity government earlier this year, in a move denounced at the time by Israel.

Hamas and another Palestinian Islamist militant group, Islamic Jihad, praised the attack. Israel has designated both groups as terrorist organisations. There has been no comment so far from Mr Abbas.