Violence at the Temple Mount, Explained
By Benjamin Taied
Tensions broiled in Jerusalem as Israeli officials reported that a Palestinian teacher shot and killed an Israeli tour guide near one of Jerusalem’s holiest sites on November 21, 2021.
The attack reignited cries from Israel’s right wing for increased security at the holy site (known to Muslims as the Aqsa Mosque and to Jews as the Temple Mount). The site is religiously significant for both Jews and Muslims and was a crucial factor in the build-up of Israel’s 11-day war with Hamas earlier this year.
The Temple Mount is regarded as the holiest site in Judaism because it was formerly the site of two historic temples where, according to Jewish tradition, God’s presence was revealed. For Muslims, the Aqsa Mosque is essential because it is where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to paradise.
Following the murder, Israel’s Minister of Communications Yoaz Hendel called for the installation of metal detectors outside the Aqsa compound, a security measure Israel implemented in 2017 but abandoned when it sparked deadly riots. A comparable strategy could exacerbate tensions among Israel’s fragile ruling coalition, which is composed of religious Jewish right-wing lawmakers, along with Arab legislators.
According to the New York Times, the Arab gunman fired at three civilians and two police officers. Magen David Adom, an Israeli affiliate of the International Red Cross, mentioned that one civilian was shot in the head and killed, one civilian was moderately wounded, and another civilian and the two police officers were mildly injured from the attack. Police identified the victim as Eliyahu David Kay, a tour guide on his way to work at the Western Wall.
Minister of Public Security Omer Bar Lev revealed that the attacker was killed by security officials on the spot, sparking a larger conversation about extrajudicial killings in the region. Fadi Abu Shkhaydem, age 42, a teacher from a Palestinian district in East Jerusalem, was identified as the gunman by both Israeli and Palestinian news outlets. He was described as a prominent official of Hamas in Shuafat, a district of East Jerusalem that predominantly houses Palestinians whose families fled fighting during the Arab Israeli War in 1948, according to a statement issued by a Hamas-owned television channel.
Hamas confirmed the gunman’s involvement as a senior member in East Jerusalem. The extremist group is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Israel, and other Western countries. Hamas lauded the assailant but did not explicitly claim responsibility for the killing.
Political violence is widespread in Jerusalem, conquered and later annexed by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict. Police officers in Jerusalem have historically used deadly force to prevent violence against Jewish civilians, including during the week prior to the November killing.
Jerusalem is considered an occupied territory by Palestinian Arabs, who aspire for it to become the capital of a future independent Palestinian state.
Bar Lev added in a statement that the assailant’s wife left for a foreign nation three days before the attack.
Since May, major outbreaks of violence in Gaza have been avoided as the two parties engage in indirect negotiations to keep the cease-fire in place. Low-level violence, on the other hand, has increased in the occupied West Bank. According to UN data, 76 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank this year because of protests, skirmishes, and raids, which is the highest number since 2016. Attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank have reached a five-year high.
