Israeli authorities released security camera footage on Thursday showing an unidentified man smuggling guns onto the Temple Mount, which were then used by three terrorists to kill two Israeli policemen on Friday.
The footage tracks the movements of the three Arab-Israeli gunmen—Muhammad Ahmed Muhammad Jabarin, 29; Muhammad Hamad Abdel Latif Jabarin, 19 and Muhammad Ahmed Mafdal Jabarin, 19—since they arrived in Jerusalem from their home town of Um al-Fahm in northern Israel, The Times of Israel reported.
The terrorists can be seen entering the Temple Mount through Herod’s gate, then being followed by an unidentified accomplice with a backpack containing the weapons.
All four went to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, where the accomplice left the weapons before leaving. Two of the attackers then left the mosque, while a third left shortly afterwards with the backpack holding the guns. The terrorists later walked down an alley at the complex, changing their clothes and hiding the weapons on their bodies.
The security footage confirmed suspicions by the police that the guns were brought to the Temple Mount on Friday.
“The Israeli police needs these metal detectors so the security checks can give a proper response to the security considerations,” Gilad Erdan, Israel’s public security minister, told Israel Army Radio on Thursday. “I assume there are contacts internationally to try to calm the situation, but in my eyes there is no reason why the situation should not be calm.”
Israel closed the Temple Mount for two days after the terrorist attack last week, the first time it has done so in fifty years. Following a search of the area, “police said they found a cache of weapons, including a sub-machinegun,” The Times of London reported.
Muslim leaders in the Palestinian territories have called for protests on Friday, Islam’s holy day, if the metal detectors are still in place. All visitors to the Western Wall Plaza and those entering the Temple Mount through the Mugrabi Gate—the only entrance open to non-Muslims—are already required to undergo a security check including walking through a metal detector.
The footage also backs up the assessment of MK Yaakov Perry, formerly the head of Shin Bet, that the metal detectors were installed at the Temple Mount due to “pure security” considerations. Perry noted that sensitive religious sites around the world, including in Saudi Arabia and the Vatican, are protected by security measures such as metal detectors, and so their installation at the Temple Mount does not in any way represent a change in the status quo.
[Photo: Times of Israel / YouTube]