TEL AVIV — Jerusalem was on high security alert Thursday after the attempted assassination of an outspoken Israeli right-wing activist and the fatal shooting by police of the Palestinian suspect. Roadblocks were set up and more than 1,000 extra police officers mobilized “to prevent any further violence in order to keep the situation under control,” police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The flashpoint of the Temple Mount — a holy site both for Jews and Muslims, who call it Noble Sanctuary — was closed for the first time since September 2000. The elevated marble and stone compound is the third-most sacred site in Islam and the holiest in Judaism.
Yehuda Glick, a prominent campaigner, was shot and severely wounded Wednesday as he left a conference promoting a campaign to permit praying at Temple Mount. Glick has dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship, according to the Jerusalem Post. He was "fighting for his life" in hospital, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday. Earlier, a Palestinian who police described as the suspect in the attempted assassination of Glick was shot and killed. Rosenfeld said shots were fired from inside the house in Abu Tor, east Jerusalem, prompting security forces to respond. Friends identified the slain Palestinian as Moutaaz Hijazi, 32. “I saw him bleeding,” said his friend Hani Geith, adding that 15 people were also wounded in the shootout. There were further clashes between local residents and security forces during the morning.
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