Israel has decided to prohibit access to the Temple Mount Thursday to both Muslim and Jewish worshipers and visitors until further notice, following the shooting in Jerusalem of Rabbi Yehudah Glick, a right-wing activist with the Temple Mount Faithful.
Glick was shot three times outside the Jerusalem’s Begin Center following a conference about the Jewish presence on the Temple Mount. Police were still searching for the unidentified assailant who was wearing a helmet and was said to have fled the scene on a motorcycle.
Glick had finished a speech at a conference at the Begin Center, entitled “Israel returns to the Temple Mount.” Eyewitnesses said that after the event, a man with an Arabic accent approached Glick and asked him for his identity. The man then shot the victim, got on the motorcycle and fled, suggesting this was possibly an assassination attempt on Glick specifically.
Jerusalem District Police Commander Moshe Edri together with Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch assessed intelligence reports on the ground, according to a police spokesman, and issued a directive barring Muslims and Jews from accessing the holy site.
Right-wing activists, including some members of Knesset, had called to march on the Temple Mount en masse Thursday morning in response to the suspected attempted assassination which left Glick in serious, but stable, condition.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for an increased police presence in Jerusalem, as security forces were on high alert across the country.
“We are all praying for Yehudah’s well-being,” said Netanyahu.