26-year-old assailant has been shot dead after conducting a shooting attack in Jerusalem’s Old City. The attack left one dead, a recent immigrant from South Africa who worked as a guide at the Western Wall. Four other people were injured during the incident and remain in serious condition. The shooting occurred on Sunday morning near the Chain Gate entrance to the al Aqsa mosque compound, which is also referred to as the Temple Mount. The assailant used an improvised automatic weapon and was shot dead by officers at the scene. The gunman was allegedly from the neighborhood of Shuafat in Jerusalem and associated with the political wing of Hamas.
Following the incident, Hamas issued a statement calling the assailant a heroic martyr and describing him as a local leader of the movement. The Hamas statement identities the attacker as Fadi Abu Shkaydam. According to Hamas, the attack was a response to the attempts to desecrate the Al Aqsa mosque. Israel is now on heightened alert for terrorism and is treating a stabbing incident in the city of Jaffa this month as possible terrorism.
