Several dead as gunman opens fire in occupied East Jerusalem

A gunman has killed at least seven people and wounded three others in a synagogue on the outskirts of occupied East Jerusalem, a day after Israel killed nine Palestinians in deadliest raid in occupied West Bank in years.

Police said the gunman arrived at around 8.15 pm [local time] on Friday and opened fire, hitting a number of people before he was killed by police. 

TV footage showed several victims lying in the road outside the synagogue being tended to by emergency workers.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack in Neve Yaakov, an illegal Jewish settler neighbourhood of Israeli-annexed Palestinian territory. 

The attack, which police described as a "terrorist incident", underlined fears of an escalation in violence after months of clashes in the West Bank culminating in a deadly Israeli raid in Jenin on Thursday that killed at least nine Palestinians.

A 10th Palestinian was killed by Israeli troops in a separate attack. 

Israeli police identified the attacker as a 21-year-old East Jerusalem resident who apparently acted alone. His father was reportedly arrested by the Israeli military. 

In a sign of the potential for further escalation, three Palestinians were taken to hospital after being shot in an incident near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. 

The identity of their attacker was not initially clear.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of one of the hardline nationalist parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government visited the site of the attack, where he was greeted with a mixture of cheers and boos.

Netanyahu also visited the attack site. 

READ MORE: Bullets, explosions didn't stop: Palestinians recall the deadly Israel raid

Attack condemned 

Türkiye condemned the "terrorist attack" and expressed concern that attacks, which have recently increased in the region, will set off a new spiral of violence.

"We call on all parties to moderation and take the necessary measures to stop such incidents. We offer our condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded," the Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said. 

United States also condemned the attack and voiced solidarity with Israel ahead of a visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"This is absolutely horrific," State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters. "We stand with the Israeli people in solidarity," he said.

Patel said there would be no change in the travel plans of Blinken, who plans to meet with the leaders of Israel, Palestine, as well as Egypt starting on Sunday.

"To attack worshippers at a synagogue on Holocaust Memorial Day, and during Shabbat, is horrific," Britain's Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.  

"We stand with our Israeli friends," he said in a statement on Twitter.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he is "deeply worried" by the current escalation of violence and urged "utmost restraint."

UAE also condemned the attack.

READ MORE: Concerns over escalating violence as Israel air attacks hit Gaza

Palestinians mourn and bury their dead

Earlier on Friday, Palestinians marched in anger as they buried the last of the 10 Palestinians killed a day earlier.

Scuffles between Israeli troops and Palestinian protesters erupted after the funeral for a 22-year-old Palestinian north of Jerusalem and elsewhere in the West Bank, but calm prevailed in the contested capital and in the blockaded Gaza for most of the day.

Neve Yaakov is an illegal Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.

Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its undivided capital, while Palestine calls East Jerusalem capital of its occupied country. 

Israel has established dozens of illegal settlements in the West Bank that house 500,000 people. 

The Palestinians and much of the international community view Jewish settlements as illegal and an obstacle to peace, even as talks to end the conflict have been moribund for over a decade.