Man shot dead in Jerusalem's Old City after he opened fire at Israeli police

Contested East Jerusalem has seen sporadic attacks since US-sponsored peace talks broke down in 2014

Israeli rescue workers carry the body of a Palestinian near the scene of an attack in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Monday, December 21, 2020. AP Photo

Israeli police shot dead an unidentified man who fired a gun towards officers in Jerusalem's Old City on Monday, a police spokeswoman said.

The man shot at a group of officers at a security post in the walled Old City, the spokeswoman said, and police chased the man on foot "while firing at him and [he] was neutralised".

One officer was injured during the chase and there were no other injuries. The incident occurred near one of the entrances to the Old City's Al Aqsa Mosque compound, an area revered by Muslims as the third holiest place of worship, and by Jews as the Temple Mount.

The Old City and other parts of East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and Palestinians want as part of a future state, have seen sporadic Palestinian street attacks on Israelis since US-sponsored peace talks broke down in 2014.

In May, Israeli police shot dead a Palestinian man near Jerusalem's Old City, saying they suspected he was carrying a weapon.

Police said the man was carrying “a suspicious object that looked like a pistol” and ran away when ordered to stop. They chased him on foot and opened fire. The police confirmed that no weapon was found on the 31-year-old man who was shot dead.