Three Israelis killed by Palestinian gunman in settlement near Jerusalem

Three Israelis have been killed by a Palestinian gunman who opened fire at a settlement outside of Jerusalem, according to Israeli police. 

The attacker came to the back gate of the Har Hadar settlement, where Palestinian labourers come to work, and started shooting when security guards became suspicious of him, police said.

The attacker was shot dead during the attack. A fourth Israeli was seriously wounded in the attack and is being treated. 

Neither the victims nor the attacker have been identified. 

The gunman was from Beit Surik, a Palestinian village next to the settlement of Har Hadar, Israeli police said. He was 37 years old and had a permit to work in the settlement, Israeli media reported.  

The shooting at Har Hadar is the most serious attack since July, when a young Palestinian man stabbed three Israelis to death in a settlement amid major clashes over the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.    Since then tensions have calmed and there has been relatively little violence.