The rare gunfight took place inside a sacred hilltop compound in Jerusalem, known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary. The compound is the holiest site in Judaism and the third-holiest in Islam, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. Amateur video broadcast on Israeli TV stations showed a few seconds of what appeared to be confrontation between Israeli security forces and the attackers. It was the latest bloodshed in a wave of Palestinian attacks that erupted in 2015, in part over the Jerusalem holy site. In that time, Palestinian attackers have killed 43 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British tourist in stabbings, shootings and attacks using cars to ram into troops or civilians.

Source: The Hindu July 14, 2017 07:07 UTC