JERUSALEM (AP) — Two Israelis were injured Tuesday in an alleged shooting attack by a Palestinian assailant in Jerusalem, according to police.
The event continued with a year of violence that did not seem to abate after weeks of aggravated tensions around Jerusalem, in which the Jewish holiday of Easter coincided with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Israeli police were searching for the alleged attacker, who fled the scene in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of east Jerusalem. The two wounded, who were shot when they were inside a vehicle, were treated for moderate gunshot wounds.
Tensions in Israel and the occupied West Bank have soared weeks after an Israeli raid on Jerusalem’s most sensitive place of worship, the Al Aqsa Mosque compound.
The temple stands on a disputed hill called the Temple Mount by Jews and Noble Sanctuary by Muslims, and is revered as the third holiest site in Islam and the holiest in Judaism.
The Israeli army earlier this month attacked military targets linked to the Palestinian group Hamas in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip after militants in the two territories fired rocket rounds into Israel.
At least 20 people, including a soldier, have been killed in Palestinian attacks since the beginning of the year. At least 92 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire so far this year, according to a count by The Associated Press. At least half of them were affiliated with armed groups.
