One Israeli Killed, Four Injured by Palestinian Terrorist Near Temple Mount; Israeli Minister: More Peace Deals With Arab Nations Within Year

Eliyahu David Kay, 26, a recent immigrant from South Africa, was shot dead and several people were wounded in a Palestinian terrorist attack at the Chain Gate near the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Kay, who worked as a guide at the Western Wall and resided in the central city of Modiin, sustained critical wounds and was evacuated to Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus, where he succumbed to his injuries.

The Temple Mount was closed to Jewish visitors following the attack.

Israeli police said that the shooter used a Beretta M12 submachine gun to open fire on civilians and security forces. The terrorist was shot and killed by security forces.

This morning a Palestinian terrorist opened fire on Israeli civilians in Jerusalem, murdering one and injuring four.

The terrorist, a known member of the Hamas terrorist org. was neutralized.

Our prayers are with the families & loved ones of the victims.pic.twitter.com/oPQn1pQi3O

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) November 21, 2021

The Hamas terrorist group that rules the Gaza Strip praised the perpetrator and called for more attacks. Spokesman Hazem Qassem said, “This is a commando action in occupied Jerusalem. The city will continue to wage war until the occupying entity is driven out.”

United Kingdom Home Secretary Priti Patel this weekend announced that she had “acted to proscribe Hamas in its entirety.”

While London in 2001 blacklisted the Palestinian group’s military wing — the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades — it had refrained from banning Hamas’ “political wing,” thereby enabling the Gaza Strip’s rulers to continue raising funds and building infrastructure in the UK.

The new desgination, which must be approved by parliament, would make it illegal in Britain to be a member of Hamas or to express support for the group, with a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is hoping for the move to be approved this week and take effect on November 26.

Israel reportedly played an instrumental role in shaping the development, with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) having provided London with intelligence on Hamas’ terror activities. Several Shin Bet officials are believed to have recently traveled to the UK to brief their British counterparts.

The final decision, though, was apparently made following talks earlier this month between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Johnson on the sidelines of the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow.

HonestReporting some three months ago called on the UK to fully proscribe Hamas and created a call to action to that end.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi has ordered the military to ramp up for a potential attack on the rocket stockpiles of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. Reports cited the IDF’s Planning Directorate as saying that the plans, which also involve the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), are aimed at significantly offsetting the capabilities of the Palestinian terrorist organizations to fire rockets towards Israel during future conflicts.

The Iran-backed Islamic Jihad and Gaza-based Hamas are apparently working to replenish rocket supplies following the 11-day conflict they waged against Israel in May.

During Operation Guardian of the Walls, over 4,000 rockets and mortar shells were fired at southern and central Israel. Afterwards, Israeli military officials acknowledged that the IDF was unable to destroy a majority of the terrorist groups’ rockets prior to them being launched, mostly due to a lack of accurate intelligence.

Regional Cooperation Minister Issawi Frej has predicted that Israel will sign normalization deals with additional Arab states in the coming year. “Several regional states are waiting to sign agreements, and Israel is in touch with almost every state in the region,” media quoted Frej as saying.

He did not name any specific country that might formalize diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.

Former US president Donald Trump’s administration brokered the Abraham Accords between the Jewish state and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. Sudan also agreed to to sign on but arrangements were never finalized and the process was likely complicated due to last month’s military coup.

Relatedly, Israel’s chargé d’affaires in Bahrain was seen speaking with Indonesia’s defense minister on Saturday in a rare public interaction between officials from the two countries. The meeting between Itay Tagner and Prabowo Subianto took place on the sidelines of Bahrain’s annual Manama Dialogue conference.

No details were immediately available regarding the content of the discussion.

According to Israeli media, the Trump administration had Muslim-majority Indonesia and Mauritania lined up to be the next countries to normalize relations with Israel.

At the Manama Dialogue, Israel’s National Security Council chairman Eyal Hulata met with his Bahraini counterpart, the Gulf country’s foreign minister, as well as Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, according to local media.

The annual conference focuses on pressing security challenges of the Middle East, with over 300 senior government officials from 40 countries attending.