A Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli police at the entrance to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Saturday, sparking concerns of further violence in the area. The victim, identified as 26-year-old Mohammad Khaled al-Osaibi from Houra, a Bedouin Arab village in southern Israel, was allegedly shot at least 10 times by police after he tried to prevent them from harassing a woman who was on her way to the holy compound. The incident took place near the Chain Gate, an access point to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem.
According to eyewitnesses, al-Osaibi confronted police who had stopped a female worshipper on her way to the mosque. Some kind of disagreement broke out between al-Osaibi and the officers before a dozen shots were heard. Noureddine, a 17-year-old who lived in the neighbourhood and filmed the chaotic scene, said that nothing could justify that many shots, pointing to footage that showed Palestinian vendors and worshippers screaming at the sound of bullets being fired in rapid succession.
The police alleged that al-Osaibi tried to take a gun from an officer and fired it in a scuffle. However, Palestinian media widely reported that al-Osaibi was a doctor who had recently studied medicine in Romania. After the incident, police tried to force Palestinian vendors and worshippers out of the area, beating some with batons. Israeli police briefly closed the site before reopening it for dawn prayers.
The muddy stone alleyway leading to the compound was still stained with blood hours after the incident. Israeli police have increased their presence in the area as tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers from Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank gather for Ramadan prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque. On Friday, more than 200,000 Palestinians gathered for noon prayers at the compound, which passed peacefully.
Ramadan has historically seen Israeli police attack Palestinians gathered around Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam’s third-holiest site. This year, Ramadan coincides with Judaism’s Passover and Christian Easter. In 2021, the expulsion of Palestinian families from their homes in Jerusalem served as a catalyst for widespread Palestinian protests across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. Raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli security forces during Ramadan heightened tensions further and, four days later, an 11-day Israeli assault on Gaza began, ostensibly in response to rockets fired by Hamas towards Israel.
The killing of al-Osaibi has raised fears of further violence in the area, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan. It remains to be seen how the situation will develop and whether Israeli police will take measures to prevent any further escalation of violence.