Two Israeli police killed in attack near Jerusalem holy site

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (ANS – July 14, 2017 — Two Israeli policemen have been killed and a third wounded in a shooting attack near a sacred site in Jerusalem.

According to the BBC, they were shot today (Friday, July 14, 2017) by three Israeli Arabs close to the compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary).

Police chased the attackers into the site and shot them dead.

The two policemen who died of their injuries in hospital were named as Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Kamil Shanan, aged 22, and Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Hail Sattawi, who was 30. They were Druze from Israel’s northern Galilee region.

Pastor, Bible teacher, New York Times bestselling author and nationally syndicated TV and radio host, Dr. David Jeremiah has condemned the killings in a strongly-worded statement, sent to ANS by the KAIROS Company.

“My heart is deeply saddened by the news of today’s terror attacks at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem,” he said. “We mourn with the families of the two Israeli police officers who lost their lives to this senseless and barbaric violence. We mourn also with the city of Jerusalem, as once again terror has descended onto its ancient streets — this time at its most holy site.

“Today’s shooting is only the most recent in a string of attacks that have killed 43 Israelis, two Americans and one British tourist in less than two years. As a Christian and as a devoted friend of Israel, I pray for a swift end to this wave of terror.

“I pray also that this act of cowardice would not escalate tensions in the region even further. May God grant the city of Jerusalem, and all of Israel, peace, prosperity and security in the days ahead.”

The BBC said, “There has been a wave of stabbings, shootings and car-rammings of Israelis predominantly by Palestinians or Israeli Arabs since late 2015. Two of the previous attackers were Jordanians.”

Police say the three men who carried out Friday’s attack were aged between 19 and 29 and came from the northern Israeli city of Umm al-Fahm. Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said that they were not previously known to the security services.

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 100 feet away.

Mobile phone footage showed at least one of the attackers in a confrontation with members of the security forces in the holy site before being shot.

Heightened tensions

Tom Bateman, the BBC’s Jerusalem correspondent, said, “The Old City has often been a flashpoint in the conflict, which since the autumn of 2015 has seen an increase in violence involving attacks often carried out by lone individuals.

“But an attack with guns by multiple assailants in the vicinity of the heavily guarded holy site, a very sensitive location, is highly unusual in recent times.

“And the confirmation from Israel’s security agency that the attackers were Israeli Arab citizens of Umm Al Fahm, and not previously known to the authorities, will also cause concern about the ability of Israel to prevent such incidents.”

Bateman added, “For the Israeli government, the event has crossed ‘red lines’ and there will be fears of an increase in tensions following the severity of the attack and the rare decision to close the site.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was “a sad day in which our Druze brothers pay the heaviest price in our joint mission to protect the security of our country. I salute them and their heroism.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack in a phone call to Mr Netanyahu, the prime minister’s office said. Mr. Netanyahu has previously accused the Palestinian leader of failing to denounce such attacks.

The BBC said that 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 a knife.

The Palestinian Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammad Hussein, who had urged worshippers to defy the closure, was detained by police, his aides said, though Israeli officials would not comment.

Elsewhere, a Palestinian was shot dead in clashes with Israeli forces at a refugee camp near Bethlehem also today Friday (July 14, 2017), Palestinian sources said.

Barra Hamamdeh, 21, was killed during a raid by troops on the Dheisheh camp, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.

‘Severe event’

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.

Israel’s Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said the attack was “a serious and severe event in which red lines were crossed,” adding that security arrangements in and around the site would be reviewed.

No group has said it was responsible, though the militant Palestinian Hamas movement, which runs the Gaza Strip, praised the attack as a “natural response to the Zionist ongoing crimes.”

The shooting comes weeks after an Israeli policewoman was killed in a knife and gun attack outside the Old City by three Palestinians from the occupied West Bank.

Forty-four Israelis and five foreign nationals have been killed in nearly two years of such attacks.

At least 255 Palestinians — most of them attackers, Israel says — have also been killed in that period, news agencies report. Others have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops.

“Israel says Palestinian incitement has fueled the attacks. The Palestinian leadership has blamed frustration rooted in decades of Israeli occupation,” the BBC stated.

Note: Dr. David Jeremiah is among the best known Christian leaders in the world. He serves as senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, California and is the founder and host of Turning Point. Turning Point’s 30-minute radio program is heard on more than 2,200 stations worldwide. In 1982 Turning Point launched a television program, which conservative estimates suggest that close to 200 million homes around the world have access to Dr. Jeremiah’s Bible teaching each week. Dr. Jeremiah has written more than fifty books. His website is: www.davidjeremiah.org.

Photo captions: 1) The attackers were shot dead after being pursued into the sacred compound (BBC). 2) Dr. David Jeremiah. 2) Sgt. Maj. Hail Sattawi (left) and Sgt. Maj. Kamil Shanan died of their wounds (Israel Foreign Ministry). 4) Area of the shooting. (BBC website) 5) Worshipers held Friday prayers outside Lions’ Gate after police shut the holy site. 6) Dan Wooding outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

About the writer: Dan Wooding, 76, is an award-winning winning author, broadcaster and journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, and is now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for more than 54 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. Dan is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He is also the author of some 45 books and has two US-based TV programs –- “Windows on the World” and “Inside Hollywood with Dan Wooding” — which are both broadcast on the Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network (http://hsbn.tv/), and also a weekly radio show called “Front Page Radio” on the KWVE Radio Network (www.kwve.com). Dan has reported many times for ANS from Jerusalem and the West Bank.

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