Alleged killer of US embassy staff charged with murder

THE suspect accused of gunning down two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington was charged Thursday with murder, as international tensions over anti-Semitism erupted over the attack.

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Elias Rodriguez, 31, shouted “Free Palestine” as he was taken away by police after the shooting late on Wednesday outside the Capital Jewish Museum, prosecutors said in a court document.

“I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza,” he told the officers.

The Chicago man made an initial court appearance on Thursday after being charged with two counts of first-degree murder and murder of foreign officials. If convicted, he could receive the death penalty.

Authorities were investigating the shooting “as an act of terrorism and as a hate crime,” said Jeanine Pirro, interim US attorney for the District of Columbia. “I suspect as we go forward that there will be more charges added,” she said, noting that a preliminary hearing was set for June 18.

The shooting triggered international outrage and finger-pointing as Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar blamed European criticism of his country’s stepped-up Gaza offensive, claiming “a direct line connecting anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder.”

“This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organisations, especially from Europe,” he said.