Temple Mount Shootout
Two Israeli police and three Arab-Israeli gunmen
have died after a shootout at the entrance to the
Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem.
It is the holiest site in Judaism and the third-holiest in Islam.
Three people were wounded when the gunmen
opened fire at Lion’s Gate, one of the entrances
into the complex.
The attackers then fled into the Temple Mount compound,
known to Muslims as Haram esh-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary),
and were shot dead.
Amateur video broadcast on Israeli TV stations showed the confrontation, and two rifles, a handgun and a knife were
found on the bodies of the attackers.
Temple Mount has been a flashpoint for violence in the past,
with friction there sparking Israeli-Palestinian violence,
including the “intifada” protests against Israeli occupation
that lasted several years.
Israeli police said the holy site was cleared of visitors after
the attack and would be closed for prayers today —
the highlight of the Muslim religious week.
Thousands of worshippers flock regularly to the compound,
both from Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
It is only the third time since Israel’s capture of East
Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war that authorities
have ordered the Muslim-administered holy site to be closed.
Police are investigating how the attackers were able
to approach the Old City with weapons.
There is heavy security in the area, particularly on Fridays,
and young Palestinian men are frequently stopped and
searched.
Friday's incident was the latest in a continuing wave
of Palestinian attacks that started in 2015, partly over the
Jerusalem holy site.
In that time Palestinian militants have killed 43 Israelis,
two visiting Americans and a British tourist in stabbings,
shootings and using cars to ram into troops or civilians.
Israeli forces have killed 254 Palestinians, most of them
in terrorist attacks and others in street clashes.
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