Obama urges calm after attack

US President Barack Obama strongly condemned the attack on the synagogue in Jerusalem in a statement released on Tuesday, while also calling on Israelis and Palestinians to "work cooperatively to lower tensions."

"The thoughts and prayers of the American people are with the victims and families of all those who were killed and injured in this horrific attack and in other recent violence," it read.

"At this sensitive moment it is all the more important for Israeli and Palestinian leaders and ordinary citizens to work cooperatively together to lower tensions, reject violence and seek a path forward towards peace."