Palestinian shot dead after killing one Israeli and wounding several at holy site in Jerusalem

A Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli police after he killed one Israeli and wounded several others near the entrance to a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site on Sunday, police said.

Police said the violence took place near an entrance to a shrine known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

Violence surrounding the site, which is considered holy by both faiths, has triggered previous fighting between Israel and the Palestinians, most recently in May.

Paramedics said one person suffered critical injuries, two suffered serious wounds, and two others were lightly injured.

Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital later said one of the injured died. The paramedics said the Palestinian attacker was confirmed dead at the scene.

Police published pictures of an improvised firearm and a knife from the scene.

The Hamas militant group issued a statement calling the incident a “heroic operation”.

“Our people’s resistance will continue to be legitimate by all means and tools against the Zionist occupier until our desired goals are achieved and the occupation is expelled from our holy sites and all of our lands,” spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou said.

Sunday’s incident was the second of its kind in Jerusalem’s historic Old City in recent days, but shootings are relatively rare.

On Wednesday, a Palestinian teenager was fatally shot after stabbing two Israeli border police.

In that incident, the two officers were admitted to hospital and the teenager, identified by police as a 16-year-old from east Jerusalem, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Palestinians have carried out dozens of stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks targeting Israeli civilians and security personnel in recent years.

Palestinians and rights groups contend some of the alleged car-rammings were accidents and accuse Israel of using excessive force.