Three Palestinian attackers opened fire on Israeli Police servicemen in the Old Jerusalem area of Jerusalem city on Friday.
According to the Israeli Police, the attack killed two Israeli policemen and injured another one. The police announced that it managed to pursue the three attackers into the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and killed them.
The Israeli government banned the Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque this week as a result of the attack. From its side, the Palestinian government condemned the Israeli measures imposed after the attack in the Old City, including the closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque in front of worshipers on Friday for the first time since 1967, describing it as “terrorism”.
“These measures are terrorist practices that contradict with human values and norms and destroy international efforts and American efforts to revive the peace process,” the Palestinian government spokesman Tariq Rishmawi said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack in Jerusalem during a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the Palestinian News Agency.
The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas commented “The Jerusalem operation is a natural response to Israeli terrorism, the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and is a confirmation of the continuity of the “Intifada” and the unity of our people behind the resistance”. However, Hamas didn’t claim responsibility for the attack.
According to the Israeli police report, the three attackers were
- Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed Jabareen, (29 years);
- Mohammed Hamid Abdul Latif Jabareen,(19 years);
- Mohammed Ahmad Mufdal Jabareen, (19 years).
The attackes were from the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm. Israeli Police later arrested the Mufti of the Holy Land, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein. The incident took place immediately after the Friday prayer at a gate of the Al-Aqsa Mosque for unknown reasons.
