Several people were killed by gunfire in an Israeli settlement in east Jerusalem on Friday evening.
As the police announced on Twitter, the perpetrator opened fire at around 8:15 p.m. local time on several people who were in front of the synagogue.
A police spokeswoman spoke of eight dead.
The attacker was therefore "neutralized".
It was initially unclear whether he was killed.
According to the Israeli emergency medical service Magen David Adom, several of the injured were taken to a nearby hospital.
Several people are in critical condition.
The attack took place in the New Yaakov district, inhabited by Jewish settlers, in east Jerusalem, which has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
The Israeli police chief Kobi Schabtai spoke of a "serious and complex attack".
The area is currently being searched to rule out that there are other fugitives.
The police are currently assuming a terrorist background.
The security situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories has deteriorated significantly in recent days.
A spokesman for Gaza's ruling Hamas said the attack was in retaliation for the Israeli army's raid on the Jenin refugee camp on Thursday.
Nine Palestinians were killed and 20 others injured in clashes with Israeli soldiers.
Today, more than 600,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The Palestinians claim the territories for an independent state of Palestine with the Arab-influenced eastern part of Jerusalem as the capital.