(MENAFN) On July 14, three Arab Israelis armed with automatic rifles and a knife exit Jerusalem's Haram al-Sharif compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and shoot dead two police officers stationed nearby.
The assailants flee back into the flashpoint holy site, which includes Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, before being shot dead by security forces.
Arab Israelis are descendants of Palestinians who remained on their land following the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. They largely identify with the Palestinian cause.
Israel then takes the highly unusual decision to shut down the compound, meaning Muslim worshippers cannot attend Friday prayers there the same day, triggering anger from Muslims and Jordan, the holy site's custodian.
The site remains closed the next day, while parts of Jerusalem's Old City are under lockdown as Israel conducts searches for concealed weapons.
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