Two Israeli police officers shot dead at Jerusalem mosque

PALESTINIAN gunmen ambushed and killed two Israeli police officers at the al-aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, bringing bloodshed and chaos to a site sacred to both Jews and Muslims.

According to Israeli police, the three attackers smuggled weapons into the mosque complex – which is known to Jews as the Temple Mount – and then burst out and opened fire on the officers early yesterday. The pair were taken to hospital in critical condition but died of their wounds, a police spokesman added. All three of the attackers were killed in the shoot-out. One of them was gunned down on a plaza in front of the Dome of the Rock, one of Jerusalem’s best known sites.

The shooting led to the cancellation of Friday prayers at the mosque for the first time in decades. Israeli authorities said the mosque, which is the third holiest site in Islam, would remain shut until at least tomorrow.

The attackers were all Israeli citizens of Palestinian descent and came from Umm al-fahm, an Arab village in northern Israel, according to the Shin Bet, Israel’s equivalent of MI5. Two of them were 19 and the third was 29 and they appeared to all be relatives.

No group immediately admitted responsibility for the attack but at least one gunman was motivated by the belief that Israel was trying take control of the mosque, it was claimed.

Mohamammed Hamed Jabreen posted a selfie of himself in front of the Dome of the Rock shortly before the attack, with the message: “Tomorrow’s smile will be more beautiful, God willing.” Under an agreement struck after the 1967 war, Jews are only allowed to go to the site at certain times and cannot pray there, while Muslims can access it at almost all times.

Jewish visits to the site are a constant source of tension. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, spoke after the attack and both appealed for calm following the violence at the sensitive site.