US-Born Israeli Activist Shot, Seriously Wounded In Jerusalem

Yehuda Glick, a well-known U.S.-born activist, was seriously wounded in a drive-by shooting Wednesday night in Jerusalem, according to Haaretz. Likud MK Moshe Feiglin reportedly witnessed the attack and said the gunman was an Arab man who intentionally targeted Glick.

Feiglin leads the far-right segment of Likud, the major right-wing political party in Israel. The shooter was on a motorcycle when he opened fire outside the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, where Glick was loading equipment into his car after attending a conference about the Temple Mount, according to Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper.

The Temple Mount is one of the most important religious sites in Jerusalem and has been at the center of rising tensions between Palestinians and Israelis. Glick is a spokesman for Israeli groups advocating greater Jewish access to the Temple Mount. He founded an organization advocating for Jews to be allowed to pray at the holy site.

According to the Israeli newspaper, Glick is being treated at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. Police are still investigating the incident and did not specify whether the shooting was a terrorist attack. Just last week, Glick spoke with Haaretz regarding the unrest in the Israeli capital. “Violence is escalating every day,” he said, “and the police are simply helpless.”

Clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters have been ongoing in the West Bank and Jerusalem since June, when the Israel Defense Forces accused Hamas of kidnapping and killing three teenage Israeli boys. Their deaths prompted a 50-day war of revenge-style attacks between the two groups and a ground invasion by the IDF into the Gaza Strip. More than 2,100 Palestinians -- nearly 500 of them children -- and over 70 Israelis were killed. Hundreds more were wounded and tens of thousands of Gazans were displaced after their homes were destroyed by IDF airstrikes.