Americans for Peace Now (APN) strongly condemns the shooting attack this morning at Jerusalem's Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif. APN sends its condolences to the families of the two Israeli policemen who were killed in the attack, both Arab Druze citizens of Israel, and wishes full recovery to a third police officer who was injured in the attack.
APN implores the Israeli authorities, the Palestinian Muslim clerics in Jerusalem, the government of Jordan, the Israeli and Palestinian publics, and all other stakeholders in Jerusalem, to do all they can to prevent further escalation in Jerusalem, particularly at this highly sensitive and holy spot, and to respect the sanctity of Jerusalem's holy sites.
In that vein, APN welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' swift condemnation of the attack in a phone call to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, as well as Netanyahu's assurance that despite the attack, Israel will adhere to the "status quo" on the Temple Mount. APN calls on the authorities in Israel to respond to the attack in a calm and measured manner.
Like the two victims of today's attack, the three gunmen were Arab citizens of Israel. They reportedly shot the police officers from very close range. Such an attack, at the holiest site to Judaism and the third holiest site to Islam, is extremely unusual, if not unprecedented. All stakeholders in Jerusalem must do their utmost so it never happens again.
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APN is the sister organization of Shalom Achshav (Peace Now), Israel's preeminent peace movement. APN's mission is to educate and persuade the American public and its leadership to support and adopt policies that will lead to comprehensive, durable, Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab peace, based on a two-state solution, guaranteeing both peoples security, and consistent with U.S. national interests. APN also works to ensure Israel's future and the viability of Israel's democracy and Jewish character through education, activism and advocacy in the United States, and by mobilizing American support for Shalom Achshav.