JERUSALEM — A Palestinian militant shot useless an Israeli civilian and wounded at the least 4 different folks, together with cops, on Sunday morning on a road resulting in the holiest site in Jerusalem. It was the primary killing of a Jewish Israeli civilian by a Palestinian gunman since Could.
Israeli state broadcasters stated that the gunman opened hearth with an computerized gun shortly after 9 a.m. in an alley exterior a website sacred to each Jews, who name it Temple Mount, and to Muslims, who confer with it because the Noble Sanctuary or the Aqsa Mosque compound. One civilian was killed by a shot to the pinnacle, a second civilian was reasonably wounded and two cops and a 3rd civilian have been flippantly damage, based on Magen David Adom, the Israeli affiliate of the Worldwide Pink Cross.
The person killed was later named by the police as Eliyahu Kay, a tour information.
The attacker was shot useless by safety officers seconds after the assault, based on Omer Bar Lev, an Israeli minister who oversees the police. The attacker was named within the Israeli and Palestinian information media as Fadi Abu Shkhaydem, 42, a trainer from a Palestinian district in East Jerusalem. A Hamas-owned tv channel stated that he was a senior chief of Hamas, the militant Palestinian motion that runs the Gaza Strip and is listed as a terrorist group by Israel, the US and different international locations.
In a press release revealed by the channel, Hamas praised the attacker and acknowledged his position inside the motion however didn’t instantly declare accountability for the assault.
Political violence is common within the Outdated Metropolis of Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel from Jordan in the course of the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1967 and later annexed. Cops killed a second Palestinian assailant within the Outdated Metropolis this previous week after a separate assault, and shot useless two others in failed makes an attempt in September.
Palestinians regard the Outdated Metropolis as occupied and hope that it’ll type a part of the capital of a future Palestinian state.
The assault on Sunday was comparatively uncommon as a result of it concerned a gun and since such assaults don’t typically outcome within the loss of life of an Israeli civilian. Different latest makes an attempt within the Outdated Metropolis have seen attackers wielding knives and concentrating on safety officers, however the assailants have been shot useless by the police earlier than having the ability to kill anybody.
In a press release, Mr. Bar Lev stated that the assailant’s spouse left for a international nation three days in the past, implying a point of forethought to the assault.
After the killing, a second authorities minister, Yoaz Hendel, referred to as for the set up of metallic detectors exterior the Aqsa compound, a transfer initially proposed by Israel in 2017 however aborted after it set off unrest that left several people dead.
For Jews, the Temple Mount is taken into account essentially the most sacred place in Judaism as a result of it was as soon as the placement of two temples the place custom holds that God’s presence was revealed. For Palestinians, the Noble Sanctuary is seen as central to their nationwide id as a result of in Islamic custom, it’s the place the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.
A visit to the site in 2000 by Ariel Sharon, then the chief of the Israeli opposition who a yr later grew to become prime minister, is seen as one of many fundamental sparks of the second Palestinian intifada, or rebellion.
Since 1967, Israel has allowed the Jordanian authorities to retain administrative oversight of the compound, and nominally permits Jews solely to go to the positioning, to not pray there. However Israel additionally retains total safety oversight and controls entry. The Israeli police just lately started to quietly allow Jewish prayer at the site, and have typically raided it throughout instances of unrest. A number of Israeli raids final April and Could formed the backdrop to a subsequent 11-day conflict between Israel and militants in Gaza.
Main flare-ups in Gaza have been averted since Could, as the 2 sides conduct oblique negotiations to stabilize the cease-fire. However low-level violence has surged within the occupied West Financial institution. In keeping with records compiled by the United Nations, 76 Palestinians have been killed to this point this yr throughout protests, clashes and raids within the West Financial institution — increased than in any yr since 2016. Assaults by Israeli settlers on Palestinians within the West Financial institution are additionally at a five-year excessive, based on United Nations information.
Not less than 12 Israelis have been killed within the West Financial institution in 2021, increased than in both 2019 or 2020, however decrease than in 2017 or 2018.
Irit Pazner Garshowitzcontributed analysis.
