In response to the gruesome axe murder of four worshippers, including three Americans, at a Jerusalem synagogue Tuesday, Palestinians in Gaza Strip and West Bank erupted in spontaneous celebrations.
A cousin of the attackers said, "We got the usual death notification and we shouted with joy, people here also handed out candies to guests who came to visit and were happy for the martyrs." He added: "Praise God. For a person to die as a martyr is a great thing."
Shortly after the attacks, multiple images surfaced showing masked Palestinians handing out sweets, holding up signs of the two murderers (who they hailed as 'martyrs'), and celebrating the attack in the streets of Rafah in the Gaza Strip:
Masked Palestinians hold axes and a gun as they celebrate with others an attack on a Jerusalem synagogue, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a meat cleaver and a gun killed four people in a Jerusalem synagogue on Tuesday before being shot dead by police, the deadliest such incident in six years in the holy city amid a surge in religious conflict / Reuters
A number of cartoons depicting the attacks also appeared on social media:
The attackers, cousins Ghassan and Uday Abu Jamal, were idolized in a demonstration in Gaza:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Facebook page featured an image exposing and responding to Palestinian propaganda that lionized the terrorists:
