NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC condemns the heinous Palestinian terrorist attack that left two Israelis dead and two wounded in Jerusalem.

Nehemia Lavi and Aharon Benet were stabbed to death, and Benet's wife and two-year-old child were wounded by a terrorist while they were walking at the end of the Jewish Sabbath this evening in the Old City.

"We mourn the loss of the two Israelis killed in an act of sheer hatred and viciousness, and pray for the recovery of the wounded," said AJC Executive Director David Harris.

The attack comes just two days after Eitam and Naama Henkin were gunned down while driving in the West Bank. Their four children, who were in the car, were unharmed.

Both terror attacks reflect an escalation in Palestinian violence, while Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas avoids the negotiating table with Israel, pursues a dead-end policy of unilateral actions at the UN, and encourages incendiary incitement against Israel.

"Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's silence in the wake of these attacks is telling, and can only be interpreted as a wink to those who are planning terrorism acts against Jews," said Harris. "If Abbas truly desires peace with Israel, he must condemn unequivocally these outrages and take decisive steps to end the violence. And if he says he can't or won't, how can he be viewed by the international community as a legitimate partner for a peace process with Israel?"

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SOURCE American Jewish Committee