Rabbi shooting in Jerusalem sparks controversy

Israeli forces on Thursday shot and killed a Palestinian suspect in the shooting of a far-right Jewish rabbi in Jerusalem one day earlier.

Israeli police said that Moataz Hegazi, a former Palestinian prisoner, was killed when he opened fire on Israeli forces trying to arrest him in East Jerusalem.

"Police counter terrorist unit surrounded house in Abu Tor searching for suspect. Shots fired at them & suspect was shot & killed immediately," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld wrote on Twitter.

Local Palestinian sources confirmed that Hegazi was killed and three other Palestinians were injured in the Israeli raid.

Israeli authorities accuse Hegazi of shooting far-right rabbi Yehuda Glick, who is notorious for leading groups of Jews to force their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, in Jerusalem late Wednesday.

Following the rabbi's shooting, Israeli authorities shut the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem indefinitely for the first time since 1967.

In recent months, groups of extremist Jewish settlers-often accompanied by Israeli security forces-have repeatedly forced their way into East Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.

The frequent violations anger Palestinian Muslims and occasionally lead to violent confrontations.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two prominent Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state-a move never recognized by the international community.

In September 2000, a visit to the site by controversial Israeli politician Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the "Second Intifada"-a popular uprising against the Israeli occupation in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.

Israeli Police Chief Yohanan Danino on Thursday declared a state of high alert countrywide after an extremist Jewish rabbi was injured in a Jerusalem shooting one day earlier.

"Police forces are prepared for any scenarios," the police said on Twitter.

Israeli Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that security measures had been stepped up in Jerusalem "to prevent and respond to any disturbances with emphasis on the Old City," the scene of Wednesday evening's drive-by shooting.