Israeli security forces shot a man in Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday night, spiking tensions in the capital during the sensitive Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Police said the man had been shot after attempting to take an officer’s weapon.
Officers responded with gunfire, “neutralizing” the man, a police statement said, adding that there were no injuries to Israeli forces. It wasn’t immediately clear if the man had been killed.
Scuffles broke out shortly after between Border Police and Arabs in the Old City.
Video from the scene showed officers wielding batons against a crowd as the two sides grappled and shoved each other while shouting on an Old City street.
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The shooting happened near the Chain Gate, an entrance to the Temple Mount holy site.
עימותים בין כוחות מג"ב לסוחרים בעיר העתיקה בירושלים@SuleimanMas1 pic.twitter.com/9OG3DMzpbB
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 31, 2023
The Temple Mount is the most holy site to Jews as the location of the ancient temples, and the third holiest to Muslims as the home of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Around 100,000 worshipers prayed at the site on Friday for Ramadan.
Army Radio reported that entrances to the Temple Mount had been shut after the shooting incident.
Police reinforcements were deployed to the scene.
In a separate incident around the same time in the West Bank city of Hebron, a soldier fired his rifle into the air while shouting at a man.
In video from the scene, the soldier can be heard telling the man he is not allowed to film. The IDF said the soldier was being investigated and that the man had been released.
תיעוד חריג מחברון: לוחם צה"ל ירה לאוויר במהלך עימות עם חשוד פלסטיני שסירב לבידוק ביטחוני; צה"ל: התנהלות הלוחם מתוחקרת – החשוד שוחרר לאחר זמן קצר@Doron_Kadosh pic.twitter.com/CHWLEbYUag
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) March 31, 2023
Both incidents were reported shortly after midnight between Friday and Saturday.
