Worshipers return to synagogue; Israel begins razing homes

Israelis joined in prayerful solidarity and dealt out harsh punishment Wednesday as worshipers returned to a Jerusalem synagogue where five people died in a Palestinian attack and security forces demolished the home of an assailant from earlier bloodshed.

The twin scenes — one in an enclave of Orthodox Judiasm and the other in mostly Arab East Jerusalem — underscored the widening cycle of violence gripping Jerusalem and the fears and anger that could harden positions on both sides.

For weeks, Jerusalem has been at a center of clashes, protests and deadly attacks that began over one of the city’s major flash points: a contested religious site considered holy by both Jews and Muslims.

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