[JURIST] The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process [official website] on Tuesday strongly condemned the attack on a synagogue in West Jerusalem. The Special Coordinator, Robert Serry, called on [statement, PDF] all sides to do everything possible to avoid further escalation. The attack Tuesday killed at least four people, including three Americans and one British man, all of whom were dual Israeli citizens. Following the attack, police shot both assailants dead. For the first time since the recent escalation in violence, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas [official website, in Arabic] also condemned the attack [Guardian report].

Tensions remain high during a recent spike in violence against Israelis. 2014 proved to be one of the most intense periods of violence for the Israel-Palestine conflict [Human Rights Watch (HRW) backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. Last week the UN Human Rights Committee urged Israel to investigate [JURIST report] alleged violations committed by its forces during the recent conflict in Gaza. The 2014 conflict lasted from July 8 to August 26, resulting in more than 2,100 deaths, with a high quantity of civilian casualties. In September HRW accused the Israeli military of committing war crimes [JURIST report] by attacking schools where hundreds of displaced Palestinians sought shelter. Also in September the Shurat HaDin of the Israel Law Center asked the International Criminal Court to open an investigation [JURIST report] into alleged war crimes committed by Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.