An armed Palestinian shot at a group of Israeli security officers in Jerusalem, and was killed when they returned fire.
Israeli Police Chief Superintendent Yuval Reuven provided TV7 with a recount of the attack, which occurred at a checkpoint near the Bab Huta Gate (Arabic for Forgiveness Gate) into the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City last night.
“Immediately after he opened fire he attempted to flee toward a Muslim neighborhood adjacent to the area. The officers chased him for about 100 meters after which time he again opened fire at police, who successfully neutralized and eliminated him.”
The Palestinian gunman was identified as a 17-year-old resident of the West Bank city of Jenin, who illegally infiltrated into Israel.
One Israeli officer fell during attempts to capture the suspect. After receiving treatment on the scene by paramedics, he was hospitalized for treatment to back and limb injuries.
The Temple Mount is revered by Jews and Christians as the site of the Biblical temples, and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary where the al Aqsa Mosque is situated.
There has been no immediate comment from Palestinian Authority officials.
The Islamist Hamas rulers of Gaza, however, praised the attempted shooting attack. “Get a hold of yourselves, the al Aqsa Mosque expects from you support and not normalization with a criminal enemy,” said a statement issued by the terror group, in further rejections of Israel’s recent peace accords with 4 Arab and Muslim countries.
The Old City and other parts of Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Six Day War and Palestinians want as the capital of their future state, have seen sporadic Palestinian terror attacks on Israelis since U.S.-sponsored peace talks broke down in 2014.
Two Israeli Border Police officers were killed in a terror attack 3 years ago near the site of last night’s incident.
A 52-year-old Israeli woman was found dead yesterday of an apparent terror attack in the West Bank. Mother-of-six, Esther Horgan, failed to return to her home in the Samarian hills settlement of Tal Menashe after a run on Sunday.
In a separate incident, Ahuvya Sandak, 17, of the West Bank outpost of Bat Ayin, was killed in a car crash yesterday during a police chase after allegedly throwing rocks at Palestinians near Ramallah. 4 other suspects in the vehicle sustained light injuries.
The IDF Spokesperson Unit announced today that West Bank Division forces will be bolstered amid the heightened tensions, “in accordance with the assessment of the situation that is taking place in the IDF on a continuous basis.”