UPDATES WITH DETAILS OF KNIFE ATTACK
By Esat Firat
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli police on Friday closed all the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City after an attempted knife attack.
Hundreds of Palestinians performed the evening prayer at the Al-Asbat gate of the compound after police closed all the gates after an alleged knife attack attempt.
A 30-year-old Israeli Arab, suspected of attempting to stab a Jerusalem policeman at the Al-Majlis gate, was shot dead Friday afternoon, Israeli daily Haaretz reported, citing the police.
Israel has made closing the doors of the mosque a regular occurrence, Al-Aqsa Mosque director Sheik Omar Kiswani told Anadolu Agency
“These are very dangerous steps. It is an obvious evidence of dirty Israeli aims to close the Al-Aqsa to the Muslim worship,” he said.
Kiswani said Arab and Muslim countries ignoring events around Al-Aqsa Mosques and Palestine were responsible for what happens there.
Israeli police closed Al-Aqsa twice in the past 30 days.