Israeli forces carry out PM Benjamin Netanyahu's threat

Israeli forces have carried out the threat of their Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to settle scores with the Palestinian terrorists who murdered five people in a Jerusalem synagogue yesterday.

The home of one of the killers' families was blown up.

Today, faithful to their religious routine, Jewish worshippers were back at the synagogue where the killings took place.

From there, ITV News Middle East Correspondent, Geraint Vincent, reports:

Worshippers have today returned to a Jerusalem synagogue where four rabbis and a policeman were killed by armed raiders yesterday, vowing they would not be intimidated.

The bloodstains have been washed away and four memorial candles lit, with officers now stationed outside the Kehillat Bnei Torah synagogue amid fears of growing violence.

Among the dead was British-Israeli rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg, originally from Liverpool. He and three American rabbis were killed during morning prayers by two Palestinian militants, while the policeman died later from his injuries.

One member of the synagogue, Avraham Burkei, said the congregation would not be cowed into changing their routine.

Pope Francis has voiced concern over rising tensions and violence in Jerusalem, as he condemned a violent attack at a synagogue which left five people dead.

Two Palestinian men stormed into the Bnei Torah Kehilat Yaakov synagogue yesterday morning and killed four Rabbis, including a British-Israeli. A policeman later died of his injuries.

The men, who were armed with a meat cleaver and a knife, were shot dead in a gunfight with police at the scene.

In his first appearance since yesterday’s attack, Pope Francis told St Peter’s Square:

The attack was the latest in a string of violence in recent weeks in a dispute over Jerusalem’s holiest site, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount.

A fifth person has died following the attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem, a police spokesperson has confirmed to ITV News.

The fifth victim was a police man, and one of the first to respond to the attack, local media sources said.

Thousands of mourners have been attending the funerals of the four people killed in an attack by Palestinian militants on a synagogue in Jerusalem earlier today.

Among the dead is a 68-year-old Rabbi originally from Liverpool, who has duel Israeli-British citizenship. His family have told ITV News they are shell-shocked by his senseless murder. President Obama condemned the killings, saying there was no justification for attacks against innocent civilians, whilst Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to respond with a "heavy hand".

Middle East Correspondent Geraint Vincent reports.

The cousin of the British Rabbi killed in the synagogue attack in Jerusalem said she was very privileged to have known him.

In an interview with ITV News Michelle Hirschfield described her cousin as "caring and peaceful", and said the whole community was shell-shocked by his senseless murder.

The family of Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg said they could not understand how the men that killed him could have such a disregard for human life.

Mr Goldberg, who was born in Liverpool and holds dual British-Israeli citizenship, was among four people killed after militants stormed a synagogue in Jerusalem. In a statement to ITV News, his immediate family said:

The British man who was killed during the Jerusalem synagogue attack "only wanted peace", his relatives said.

Avraham Shmuel Goldberg was one of four people murdered when two militants stormed the building and attacked worshippers with knives, axes and guns before being shot by police.

Mr Goldberg was 68 and was married with six children, as well as several grandchildren and great grandchildren.

His cousin Michelle Hirschfield told the BBC:

It is thought Mr Goldberg moved to Israel from Golders Green, north London, in the early 1990s. He held dual British-Israeli citizenship.

US President Obama has condemned the attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem where three US citizens died as a terrorist act, saying "there is and can be no justification against attacks against innocent civilians". He called for Israeli and Palestinian leaders and citizens to work together to lower tensions.