A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
(Full Story)
Search This Blog
Back to 500BC.
==========================
Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Saturday, July 15, 2017
Deadly attack at Jerusalem holy site in Old City
JERUSALEM -- Three Palestinians opened fire on Israelis
near a major Jerusalem holy site Friday, wounding three before fleeing
into the sacred compound where they were killed in a gunfight with
security forces, police said.
Two police officers were killed in the attack, Israel's police chief said later Friday.
The rare gunfight took place inside a sacred hilltop compound in
Jerusalem, known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as Noble
Sanctuary. The compound is the holiest site in Judaism and the
third-holiest in Islam, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Ruptly TV
Ruptly TV
The site has been a flashpoint for violence in the past, with friction there sparking major rounds of Israeli-Palestinian violence, including a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation that lasted several years.
Police said the site was cleared of people after the attack and would be
closed for prayers Friday -- the highlight of the Muslim religious
week. It typically draws tens of thousands of worshippers who flock to
the compound from Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
It marked only the third time since Israel's capture of east Jerusalem
in the 1967 Mideast war that authorities ordered the Muslim-administered
compound closed, said Ikrema Sabri, a prayer leader at the holy site.
Israel's prime minister promised later Friday to preserve long-standing
access arrangements at the contested holy site, in an apparent attempt
to allay Muslim fears after Israel ordered the volatile shrine closed
for the day.
Benjamin Netanyahu said the Muslim-administered sacred compound would
remain shut Friday for security reasons, to make sure there are no
weapons there, but he said the status quo governing the site "will be
preserved."
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the incident began early Friday, near
Lion's Gate, one of the entrances into Jerusalem's walled Old City. The
mosque compound is only a few yards from Lion's Gate.
Samri said the attackers opened fire on Israelis and then fled into the
compound. Police gave chase and killed the assailants, she said.
Amateur video broadcast on Israeli TV stations showed a few seconds of
what appeared to be confrontation between Israeli security forces and
the attackers.
In the video, several people -- only visible as dark figures in the
footage shot from a distance -- were running inside the compound. At one
point, one of the figures dropped to the ground. In another moment, a
puff of smoke, possibly from gunfire, was visible.
Two rifles, a handgun and a knife were found on the bodies of the attackers.
Police were probing how the assailants were able to approach the Old
City with weapons. Heavy security is in place in the area, particularly
on Fridays, and young Palestinian men are frequently stopped and checked
by police.
It was the latest bloodshed in a wave of Palestinian attacks that erupted in 2015, in part over the Jerusalem holy site.
In that time, Palestinian attackers have killed 43 Israelis, two visiting Americansand a British tourist in stabbings, shootings and attacks using cars to ram into troops or civilians.
During that period, Israeli forces have killed more than 254
Palestinians, most of them said by Israel to be attackers while others
were killed in clashes.
© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated
Press contributed to this report.