ALERT: Israel- Police Shooting Closes Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif (July 14, 2017)
July 14, 2017
In Jerusalem, three attackers killed two police officers and wounded another outside of the compound known as the Temple Mount – or Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) to Muslims. The sacred site is closed, pending a police investigation.
The New York Times reports:
In an extraordinarily brazen assault early Friday, three Arab citizens of Israel armed with guns and knives killed two Israeli police officers guarding an entrance to Jerusalem’s holiest site for Jews and Muslims, an emotional and volatile focal point of the Israeli-Arab conflict.
The police announced that they had evacuated and closed the compound, and helicopters circled above the area after the attack.
The closing of the holy site is an exceptional and potentially explosive measure; Israeli-imposed restrictions on Muslim entry to the compound have prompted rioting in Palestinian areas in the past.
The police said the site would remain closed to worshipers until the investigation of Friday’s events was completed, and said searches were underway in the area. In an apparent effort to head off more violence and criticism, the police emphasized that the measures did not signify a long-term change to the delicate status quo at the holy site. They added that the assailants had been armed with two automatic weapons, a handgun and at least one knife, and said officers were making sure that other weapons were not being stored at the site.
According to BBC News:
Police say the gunmen opened fire as they made their way from the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif towards Lions’ Gate, an opening in the Old City walls about 100ft (30 metres) away. The attackers were then pursued back to the compound, where they were killed.
In the wake of the incident, police sealed off the site to search it for weapons. It is the first time in decades that the compound, which contains the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, has been closed for Muslim Friday prayers, which normally draws thousands of worshippers.
The site is administered by an Islamic authority (Waqf), though Israel is in charge of security there. Police are investigating how the attackers managed to smuggle in a handgun, sub-machine gun and knife.
The Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif is the holiest site in Judaism and third holiest in Islam and is one of the most politically sensitive sacred places in the world.
It is located in East Jerusalem, occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East war. Israel considers the entire city its sovereign capital, while Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their sought-after future state.
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