A member of Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas opened fire in Jerusalem’s Old City, killing one and injuring three others Sunday morning.
The attack occurred near an entry point for the al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, the third holiest site for Muslims, and a point of contention between Israelis and Palestinians. Fadi Abu Shkhaydam entered the area with a machine gun and fired indiscriminately in the alleyways until two female police officers fired back, with two male officers quickly assisting them, the Times of Israel reported. Two police were injured and taken to the hospital.
The shooter, 42, was shot dead by police less than 40 seconds after he started firing.
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“[The gunman] moved through the alleys and fired quite a bit. Luckily, the alley was mostly empty because otherwise — heaven forbid — there would have been more casualties,” said Public Security Minister Omer Barlev. “The entire incident lasted 32 or 36 seconds. The actions of the female officers was — operationally — at the highest possible level.”
Hamas identified the man as a member of the organization and praised the shooting as a “heroic operation.”
“The message of the heroic operation is a warning to the criminal enemy and its government to stop the attacks on our land and our holy sites,” the group said in a statement to Israeli press. “[Israel] will pay a price for the iniquities it commits against Al-Aqsa Mosque, Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah and elsewhere.”
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One of the men injured, Rabbi Zeev Katzenelnbogen, said that the three were walking after praying at the nearby Western Wall, still dressed in prayer shawls.
The man who was killed, Eliyahu David Kay, 26, had recently immigrated from South Africa and was working as a tour guide at the Western Wall.
Thousands of people attended Kay’s funeral on Monday.
