BICOM

The victims of yesterday’s shooting attack at a Jewish school in France will be brought to Israel for burial, according to the wishes of the families, the Israeli Foreign Ministry has announced.  Gabriel Sandler (aged 4), Arieh Sandler (aged 5), and their father Jonathan Sandler, a teacher (aged 30), were shot along with Miriam Monsonego (aged 7) as they arrived for classes at the Ozar Hatorah School in the southwestern city of Toulouse.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the attack as a “despicable murder,” and said he is certain that French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his government “will do everything in their power to find the murderer.” Netanyahu added, “I promise that Israel will help France in this task.”

Foreign Secretary William Hague expressed horror at the shooting and described the crime as one of “calculated cruelty” which he said would “unite all decent people in revulsion and condemnation.”

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the killings “in the strongest possible terms”.

In response to the shootings, Jewish communities around the world are stepping up security. French authorities have launched a massive manhunt to find those responsible. The shooting has been linked to two attacks on French soldiers of ethnic minorities in the past week.