SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 28 March 2024, Thursday |

Hamas gunman kills Israeli in Jerusalem’s Old City, is shot dead by police

According to sources, a Palestinian gunman from the Islamist group Hamas killed an Israeli and injured three others in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday before being shot dead by police.

The incident, the city’s second in four days, occurred near one of the entrances to the sensitive Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam’s third holiest site. The place is revered by Jews as a relic of two ancient temples.

The gunman was recognized by Hamas as one of its commanders in East Jerusalem, one of the Palestinian areas seeking statehood.

Unlike the more moderate Palestinian Authority which governs in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, refuses permanent coexistence with Israel.

Britain on Friday banned Hamas, bringing London’s stance in line with the United States and the European Union.

“On a morning like this one can draw support from the (British) decision to designate Hamas – including what is called its political wing – as a terrorist organization,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told his cabinet.

Sunday’s attack also wounded a second civilian and two Israeli police officers, police said. The dead civilian was identified as a recent Jewish immigrant from South Africa.

Israel captured the Old City and other parts of East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed them as its capital in a move not recognized internationally.

    Source:
  • Reuters