Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The attackers were shot dead after being pursued into the sacred compound

Two Israeli policemen have been killed and a third wounded in a shooting attack near a sacred site in Jerusalem.

They were shot 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.

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.

Image copyright Israel Foreign Ministry Image caption Sgt Maj Hail Sattawi (left) and Sgt Maj Kamil Shanan died of their wounds

Image caption Identity cards, believed to belong to the attackers, were pictured at the site

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.

Police say 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 100ft (30 metres) away.

The attackers were then pursued back to the compound, where they were killed.

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.

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.

Analysis: Heightened tensions

Tom Bateman, BBC's Jerusalem correspondent

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.

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.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Worshippers held Friday prayers outside Lions' Gate after police shut the holy site

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 knife.

The Palestinian Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammad Hussein, who had urged worshippers to defy the closure, was detained by police, but later released.

His son said the cleric was not facing any charges over his call for Muslims to converge on Jerusalem.

Elsewhere, a Palestinian was shot dead in clashes with Israeli forces at a refugee camp near Bethlehem on Friday, 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.

Image copyright AFP Image caption The attack happened despite heightened security around the Old City in Jerusalem

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 fuelled the attacks. The Palestinian leadership has blamed frustration rooted in decades of Israeli occupation.</s>TEL AVIV – It cannot be ignored that today’s deadly Palestinian terrorist attack at the Temple Mount comes less than two weeks after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) passed an anti-Israel resolution declaring Jerusalem’s Old City and its ancient walls to be “occupied” and scandalously listed the areas as Palestinian heritage sites.

And the attack on the Mount – Judaism’s holiest site – comes one week after UNESCO passed an anti-Israel resolution singling out another holy site. The UN body declared the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron – considered the second holiest site in Judaism after the Temple Mount – as another “Palestinian” world heritage site in danger.

The UNESCO vote would make Israel the “occupying power” over the Temple Mount and Western Wall and implies that the Palestinian Authority, which never had a state or legal entity in Jerusalem (or the West Bank, for that matter) is the rightful authority over the ancient city of Jerusalem.

In Friday’s attack, two Israeli Border Police Officers were murdered and a third was wounded when three Palestinian terrorists opened fire at security forces near an entrance to the Temple Mount at the Lions Gate and then fled into the Mount complex. The Palestinian assailants, reportedly carrying two rifles and a pistol, were pursued by Israeli forces and were shot and killed as they tried to escape toward the mosques on the Mount.

The terrorists reportedly came from the Temple Mount and were walking toward the Lions Gate exit when they attacked Israeli officers near the gate.

The Lions Gate is included among the ancient walls declared by UNESCO as “occupied” by Israel and the Temple Mount is located within Jerusalem’s Old City that was the focus of the UN’s decision.

It was not immediately clear how the weapons were smuggled on to the Mount. Visitors to the site must first pass through security checks with metal detectors.

No group has yet claimed responsibility but it is obvious that this was a premeditated attack. If the Temple Mount area had been the intended target, then the attack just hit one of the most politically and religiously sensitive sites in the world.

Attacks on the mount are rare, especially attacks utilizing guns. In 2015, the outlawed Islamic Movement mobilized Arab youth in an attempt to smuggle fire bombs, pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails and stones on to the site to attack Jews there. Riots broke out on the Mount in October 1990, ushering in the First Intifada, and the Second Intifada kicked off in September 2000 after the Palestinians used a visit to the Temple Mount by Ariel Sharon as a pretense to launch an orchestrated terrorist campaign after bolting U.S.-brokered talks aimed at creating a Palestinian state.

Now one week after UNESCO’s Hebron decision and ten days after its vote on Jerusalem’s Old City and walls, a rare attack takes place on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City at the Lions Gate, a critical part of Jerusalem’s ancient walls.

Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.</s>TEL AVIV — Two Israeli Border Police Officers were murdered and a third was wounded on Friday when three Palestinian terrorists opened fire at security forces near an entrance to the Temple Mount and fled onto the mount complex.

The Palestinian assailants, reportedly carrying two rifles and a pistol, were pursued by Israeli forces and were shot and killed as they tried to escape toward the mosques on the Temple Mount. The mount is the holiest site in Judaism.

The terrorists reportedly had come from the Temple Mount and were walking toward the Lions Gate exit when they started to attack Israeli officers near the gate before attempting to flee back onto the mount. It was not immediately clear how the weapons were smuggled onto the mount. Visitors to the site must first pass through a security check with metal detectors.

One dramatic video (see top) that has been posted by the news media here shows one of the terrorists lying on the ground before leaping up and attempting to attack the pursuing officers. The terrorist can be heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” (or “Allah is great”) amid a hail of gunfire.

Other videos were posted on Twitter and YouTube:

The two murdered police officers were identified as 30-year-old Advanced Staff Sgt. Maj. Hael Sathawi, and 22-year-old Advanced Staff Sgt. Maj. Kamil Shanan. Both resided in mostly Druze villages in northern Israel.

The three terrorists were reportedly Israeli Arabs from the northern town of Umm al-Fahm, which is known as a hotbed of Islamic radical extremism. The three reportedly had no prior arrest records.

“This was a tough morning for the police,” said Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich. “We have two people killed, officers, who paid the dearest price in this battle.”

In a highly unusual move, Israel cancelled Friday prayers on the Temple Mount due to the ongoing security situation. Mount preachers are notorious for using Friday night sermons to incite against Israel – especially with false claims of Israeli threats to the Al Aqsa Mosque – and there is fear here that the services could have been used to instigate further violence on the mount.

Friday’s attack comes less than two weeks after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) passed an anti-Israel resolution declaring Jerusalem’s Old City and its ancient walls to be “occupied” sites and listed the areas as Palestinian heritage sites in “danger.”

And the terrorist attack comes one week after UNESCO passed another anti-Israel resolution regarding the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron – considered the second holiest site in Judaism after the Temple Mount – claiming the tomb is a “Palestinian” world heritage site in danger.

Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.</s>JERUSALEM, Israel – An early morning terror attack Friday at the Lion's Gate near the entrance to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City fatally injured two Israeli police officers. A third officer sustained moderate wounds from shrapnel.

The critically injured officers were evacuated to Hadassah Hospital Mt. Scopus, where they succumbed to their injuries. The third officer was taken to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center for treatment.

Preliminary reports indicate the three terrorists, all held Israeli identity cards, walked from the Temple Mount to the Lion's Gate where they opened fired on Isaeli security personnel in the area before attempting to flee back to the Temple Mount.

Police later confirmed the three were from the Israeli Arab city of Umm al-Fahm in the north, where residents hold Israeli identity cards, enabling them to move freely throughout the country like any citizen.

Security forces pursued the terrorists and returned fire, neutralizing the terrorists, confiscating two Karl Gustav rifles and a pistol, and sealing off the area, thereby preventing Muslim's traditional Friday prayer at the site.

In addition to the Lion's Gate, Israel Police Chief police also sealed entrance to the Old City at the Jaffa and Zion gates.

"Security assessments [are] being carried out by police officers and police commissioner. Heighten security continues in the area. The Temple Mount will remain closed throughout the day," Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said in a statement.

One month ago, Border Police Staff Sgt. Hadas Malka, 23, was killed in a similar terror attack outside the Damascus Gate. According to police reports, two of the attackers opened fire on police while a third stabbed the policewoman.</s>Analysis: The volatile location of the attack on Friday morning at the Lions’ Gate requires quick actions to prevent further escalation of the situation.

The terror attack on Friday morning calls for special attention and treatment because it happened on the Temple Mount. This fact has many implications that need to be addressed immediately in order to prevent greater escalation.

First, we need to find out quickly whether the terrorists came armed from inside the Temple Mount, and if they were in the compound with weapons during the night.

If this is the case, Israel must immediately file a complaint with the Jordanian government, which is responsible for safeguarding and protecting the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount, and is the one paying the salaries of the Waqf guards acting on its behalf.Second, the aforementioned Waqf guards must be questioned and banned from the Temple Mount until measures are taken to preserve the security and sanctity of the site.

Third, the circumstances behind the incident must be made public quickly to prevent an “alternative truth” that would incite the local populace.

Al Jazeera has already reported that “At least three Palestinians killed in shooting in Jerusalem’s Old City,” and this narrative will resonate not only in the Arab world but in the Muslim world and the West if Israel does not take quick action to explain the true circumstances—the terrorists were the ones who violated the sanctity of the place and not the other way around.

In the 1970s, when an Australian citizen named Denis Michael Rohan set fire to the pulpit of the al-Aqsa Mosque, extremely violent and dangerous riots broke out in the territories, and were subdued only with great efforts. Shooting dead the terrorists who fled to the Temple Mount may spark similar riots.

It is reasonable to assume this is a so-called “local cell.” The question is who provided them with the money to buy their firearms. It is still necessary to find out where they trained, and most importantly—when and how they smuggled the weapons into the complex.

Additionally, the fact the terrorists are Israeli Arab citizens from Umm al-Fahm could indicate their possible collaborators, and what was the background for the attack.

Finally, there is a police station on the Temple Mount with about a hundred police officers who are tasked with maintaining the order and security in the area. How did the terrorists slip through the checkpoints and gates? Apparently there is a security breach that needs to be closed shut.

These are the immediate questions needed to be asked and the lessons needed to be learned from the attack. The rest will come following a thorough and meticulous investigation by the Shin Bet, the IDF and the Israel Police.

We must also remember such attacks have many imitators, and therefore the precautionary measures must be increased on the Temple Mount to prevent another incident. The closure imposed on the Temple Mount in the meantime is necessary to prevent further religious incitement.</s>‘Israel has assured the world that it has no intention to alter the status of this holy site,’ the White House says, ‘a decision which the U.S. applauds and welcomes’

Hamas calls for attacks on Israeli army, settlers as Temple Mount remains shuttered

Analysis In calculated risk, Israel shutters Jerusalem’s Old City after Temple Mount attack

WASHINGTON – The White House issued a statement on Saturday strongly denouncing Friday’s terror attack in Jerusalem, and backing the Israeli government’s decision to temporarily close access to the Temple Mount.

Israel made the rare move to shut the Mount after three Israeli Arab assailants opened fire there Friday, killing two Israeli police officers before being shot dead.

 “Yesterday, the Holy City of Jerusalem – which means ‘City of Peace’ – became a scene of terror,” the statement says. “The people of the United States are heartbroken that terrorists brutally gunned down two Israeli police officers, and we extend our prayers and sympathies to the families of the victims. The United States strongly condemns the terror attack.”

Regarding the sensitive situation on the Temple Mount, the statement said that “the attack forced the government of Israel to temporarily close the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif to conduct its investigation. Israel has assured the world that it has no intention to alter the status of this holy site, a decision which the United States applauds and welcomes. We urge all leaders and people of good faith to be understanding as this process proceeds and reaches its conclusion.”

 The site is revered by both Muslims and Jews. Muslim worshippers as well as employees of the Waqf, the Muslim authority that administers the site, were barred from entering the site for a second day on Saturday. The rest of the Old City was also shuttered to Palestinians who don’t reside there, while Israelis and tourists were allowed to enter undisturbed.

 Haaretz</s>Israel rejected on Friday evening a demand from Jordan to immediately reopen the Temple Mount after it was shut for security reasons in the wake of a deadly shooting attack at the holy site.

Following the morning attack in which three Israeli-Arabs killed two Israeli Druze police officers near Lions Gate outside the Temple Mount complex, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the rare step of sealing the site amid security sweeps, rejecting calls both by right-wingers to lift a decades-old arrangement that forbids Jewish prayer and rituals at the site and allegations that it was seeking to change the status quo.

The dramatic move was even more significant given that Fridays are a holy day in Islam, when many travel to the Temple Mount to pray.

“The status quo will be protected,” said Netanyahu in a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Israel criticized Jordan for calling to “immediately reopen” the site after the attack with one official telling Israeli TV that “instead of condemning the attack, Jordan chose to attack Israel, which is protecting worshipers and maintaining freedom of worship in the place.”

“Israel will not tolerate harm to the holy places and is maintaining the status quo there. It should be expected that all sides involved, including Jordan, exercise restraint and avoid fanning the flames,” said the unnamed official

Jordan, which administers the site through the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, had earlier called on Israel to “reopen Al-Aqsa mosque and the Haram al-Sharif (compound) immediately,” in reference to the complex which houses the al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock sanctuary and which Israel refers to as the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism and third-holiest in Islam.

The Jordanian royal family is officially the custodian of the mosque atop the Temple Mount, and exercises its authority there though Israel is responsible for security.

According to a report Friday, among the suspects detained in the attack was at least one Waqf official who police suspect may have aided the terrorists, all from the northern Israeli city of Umm al-Fahm.

The terrorists attacked the officers in an alleyway, coming from the direction of the Temple Mount and fled back there as other officers gave chase. The police then opened fire, shooting the terrorists dead inside the complex.

It was not immediately known how the terrorists brought the weapons used in the attack — two Carlo-style submachine guns, a pistol and a knife — into the holy site. Muslim visitors to the Temple Mount complex go through a less rigorous security check than non-Muslim visitors who enter through the Mughrabi Bridge.

Jerusalem Police chief Yoram Halevi said Friday that officers were sweeping the Temple Mount, with the help of the Waqf, to look for further weapons and that police would make their recommendations on when to reopen the site to the government once that operation ends.

The Jordanian statement, issued by Jordanian Minister for Media Affairs Muhammad al Momani, called on the Israeli government to avoid taking actions that change the “historical situation” at the complex and reopen it to worshipers.

“The Jordanian government opposes any harm against Muslims in carrying out their religious worship in their holy places, freely and with no obstacles,” the statement said.

“Jordan has used and will use all tools, diplomatic and legal, in order to halt any attempt to alter the legal and historical status quo in Jerusalem,” Momani said in the statement.

Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said earlier while standing outside the Old City in Jerusalem, that the terrorists who carried out the attack “violated the holy place” and that Israel remained committed to defending holy sites regardless of religion holds them sacred.</s>JERUSALEM (CBSNewYork) — Police in Israel say three gunmen opened fire near one of Jerusalem’s holiest sites on Friday, killing two officers.

The attackers were then killed by security forces.

The site is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. It’s the holiest site in Judaism and the third-holiest in Islam.

The site has been a flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian violence in the past.</s>Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said three armed assailants, whom he identified as terrorists, targeted police units in the area. One tried to stab a police officer, he said.

All three attackers were shot and killed and the area has been closed off, according to Rosenfeld. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals.

"I can confirm that the two police officers who were previously in critical condition have died of their wounds in hospital," Rosenfeld said.

Rosenfeld said the attackers were "Israeli Arabs from Umm al-Fahm in northern Israel."

Police released images of what they said were the weapons used by the assailants, including a knife, a pistol and a homemade automatic firearm. Israeli police say these are the weapons that were used to carry out attack in Jerusalem Friday. The incident took place a little after 7 a.m. local time by the Lions' Gate in the Old City walls, next to what Muslims call the Noble Sanctuary and Jews call the Temple Mount. The area is home to the Western Wall -- which was part of the walls around the Second Jewish Temple and is one of the holiest place for Jews to pray -- and the Dome of the Rock, where Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven. There is currently a heavy police presence and the area remains closed for security assessments, Rosenfeld said. This means Muslims will not be able hold Friday prayers there, as the Al-Aqsa mosque compound is within the closed area. Worshipers at the Western Wall will likely not be affected, as it's further away from the incident. Fridays in Jerusalem are often a time of heightened security, as it's the holy day of the week for Muslims and Shabbat for Jews begins at sundown. Though shooting attacks are rare, stabbings and vehicle attacks in Jerusalem have been common in recent years. A 23-year-old policewoman died last month after she was stabbed in an attack near the city's Damascus Gate. The three assailants were shot and killed, police said. In January, a man plowed his truck into a crowd of soldiers , killing four and injuring 10. The militant Islamist group Hamas, which runs the Gaza strip, praised that attack but did not claim responsibility.</s>Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Saturday night spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, condemning Friday’s shooting attack at the Temple Mount that killed two Israeli police officers and demanding Israel reopen the holy site to Muslim worship.

According to the official Petra News Agency, the Jordanian king slammed those who “undermine security and stability” and pave the way for further violence during the call, in an apparent reference to the Arab Israeli gunmen.

He demanded Israel reopen the Temple Mount compound to Muslim worshipers, the report said.

Israel on Saturday night said it would gradually reopen the site on Sunday, having closed the compound for the first time since 1969 following the deadly attack.

Wael Arabiyat, Jordan’s Islamic affairs minister, warned that keeping Al-Aqsa mosque closed is “dangerous” and “unprecedented,” after Amman called late Friday for its immediate reopening.

Hundreds of Jordanians, responding to a Muslim Brotherhood call, demonstrated in Amman on Saturday, calling for the “liberation of Al-Aqsa.”

Netanyahu made the decision to reopen the site following a telephone conversation Saturday evening with the heads of the police, the Shin Bet, and Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan.

“I instructed that metal detectors be placed at the entrance gates to the Temple Mount,” Netanyahu said Saturday night, upon his depature for a five-day visit to Paris and Budapest. “We will also install security cameras on poles outside the Temple Mount but which give almost complete control over what goes on there. I decided that as of tomorrow, in the framework of our policy of maintaining the status-quo, we will gradually open the Temple Mount, but with increased security measures.”

The closure drew furious complaints from the Jordanian-appointed Waqf Muslim trust that administers the compound and the Al-Aqsa Mosque there, prompted a demonstration in Jordan, and provoked criticism from much of the Arab world. Israel said it was searching for weaponry and for information related to the attack.

Israel also restricted access to the Old City to non-residents on Saturday, set up new checkpoints in East Jerusalem, and limited traffic on some roads close to the Old City.

Israel has previously proposed 24-hours cameras around the compound — something Jordan has opposed. Currently such detectors are maintained only at the Mughrabi Gate entrance to the Mount used by non-Muslim visitors.

Israel’s Channel 2 reported on Saturday night that three Waqf officials were under arrest on suspicion of assisting or encouraging the attackers. It said the three gunmen had stored their weapons inside the compound several days before Friday’s attack. One of the three Waqf officials, whose arrest was reported on Friday, was said to have been seen acting suspiciously on security cameras.

Israeli security officials searched religious and administrative buildings on the Mount in the course of Friday and Saturday.

A top Waqf official told the Palestinian news agency Maan on Friday that Israeli security forces had initially detained 58 employees who were at the Temple Mount at the time of the attack. According to Firas Dibs, the employees were interrogated over whether they had taken photos or videos of the attack. Almost all of them were only briefly held, he said.

Waqf officials held a press conference on Saturday at which they complained that Israel had superseded their control of the holy site. But Jerusalem’s police chief Yoram Halevi said the searches had been carried out “with Waqf escorts… Nobody should accuse of doing things we did not do,” he said.

Netanyahu also intends to bar visits to the contested site by Jewish and Arab MKs for the foreseeable future, Channel 2 reported on Saturday. A current ban on such visits had been scheduled to expire later this month.

Ayman Odeh, the head of Israel’s main Arab party, the Joint List, warned in a television interview that the closure of the Mount was a potentially incendiary move that could spark a third intifada uprising.

He stressed his “absolute” opposition to the use of firearms, but also said that “the occupation is the root of all evil.”

Speaking after him on the same Channel 2 news program, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said that “wild incitement” was to blame for attacks like Friday’s, and said Odeh was among those responsible.

Liberman reserved stronger criticism for Sheikh Raed Salah, the Umm al-Fahm based head of the outlawed Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement. Liberman said Salah, who has served several jail terms in Israel for incitement and terrorist connections, “is no different from Islamic State and al-Qaida.”

All three of Friday’s gunmen came from Umm al-Fahm. Several of their relatives were arrested over the weekend on suspicion of involvement in the attack. Mourners’ tents set up by the families of the killers were dismantled on orders of the Israel security authorities late Friday.

Liberman rejected complaints over Israel’s handling of the aftermath of the attack, including the closure of the Mount, saying it was not Israel that had “changed a holy place into a place of terrorism.”

On Friday, Israel’s Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan had accused the gunmen of “defiling” a holy place with gunfire and bloodshed.

The Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, telephoned by Netanyahu soon after Friday’s attack, denounced the shooting, but called on Israel to reopen the compound. Amid the tension, Israel’s Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon on Saturday night canceled a scheduled meeting on Sunday with PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.

The terrorists, Muhammad Ahmed Muhammad Jabarin, 29, Muhammad Hamad Abdel Latif Jabarin, 19 and Muhammad Ahmed Mafdal Jabarin, 19, used two Carlo-style submachine guns and a pistol to carry out the attack. One of them also tried to stab an officer.

After the shooting, the gunmen fled toward the Temple Mount and other officers gave chase. The police then opened fire, shooting one or more of the attackers dead inside the complex.

In footage released by police Friday, the gunmen can be seen running armed from the Temple Mount into an alleyway where the officers, Haiel Sitawe, 30 and Kamil Shnaan, 22, were stationed, and shooting them.

Reports throughout Friday said the two police officers were killed just outside the Temple Mount compound. However, Channel 2 news reported late Friday that the second policeman may have been killed by the assailants on the Mount itself, after they had fled back.

It was not immediately known how the terrorists brought the weapons into the holy site. Muslim visitors to the Temple Mount complex go through a less rigorous security check than non-Muslim visitors who enter through the Mughrabi Bridge.

Erdan, who is responsible for the police, called the attack “an extremely serious event which crossed all red lines. The investigation is ongoing. We will need to reevaluate all of the security arrangements on the Temple Mount and its environs. I call on all public leaders to act to calm the situation and ensure quiet in Jerusalem.”

In the aftermath of the attack, many right-wing politicians and activists called to change the long-standing arrangements at the holy site that allow Muslim prayer there but forbid Jewish prayer and religious rituals.

However, Netanyahu fended off those requests with a blunt statement from his office saying, “the status quo will be protected.”

Following the attack, Israel briefly detained then released the grand mufti of Jerusalem. In a speech in the Old City, the cleric had condemned the closure. Hussein called on Muslim masses to flood to the holy site, and condemned what he called Friday’s Israeli “aggression” there, Army Radio reported — a presumed reference to the closure of the site and/or to Israeli forces’ shooting of the assailants.

No terror groups took immediate responsibility for the attack, though Hamas did praise it, saying it was a “natural response to Israeli terrorism,” and called for more attacks.
Two Druze Israeli police officers are killed in an attack at Temple Mount in Jerusalem.