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Occupied Jerusalem: The Israeli army sealed off the occupied West Bank on Friday following the overnight shooting of eight students in a Jewish seminary in Occupied Jerusalem as police arrested more than 10 relatives and friends of the suspected attacker.
After the attack, the deadliest in Israel since April 2006 and the first in Jerusalem in four years, Israel imposed a security clampdown on the holy city as thousands attended fun-erals for the Jewish victims, who were aged 15 to 26. Police set up roadblocks and troops tightened limits on Palestinian travel from the occupied West Bank.
The gunman, whose family in Arab East Jerusalem said he once worked as a driver for the college, was shot dead after opening fire with an automatic rifle at students in the library.
Hamas flags and banners of other Islamist groups flew at the home of the gunman, identified by neighbours as Ala Abu Dhaim, in his early 20s, after what proved to be a suicide mission.
Family members described Abu Dheim as quiet and intensely religious, but say he was not a member of any group and had planned to get married in the summer.
Hamas initially claimed responsibility for the attack but later retracted the claim.
US President George W. Bush led a chorus of global condemnation over the attack, as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pledged to continue efforts to work toward a truce in the Middle East.
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