Palestinian guy shot and killed in questionable circumstances close to the al-Aqsa site in Jerusalem

A Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli police early on Saturday at the entrance to the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem. Palestinian and Israeli sources disputed the circumstances that led to the killing of 26-year-old Muhammad Al-Osaibi. A former Israeli lawmaker, Talab Al-Sanee, said Al-Osaibi was killed after he tried to intervene when he saw Israeli police and border guards assaulting a young Palestinian woman. Social media video captured the sound of at least 11 gunshots. Al-Osaibi's family asked police to release security camera footage of the incident to prove the allegations that their son pulled a soldier's weapon.

Police initially said there was no footage of the incident, but after CNN provided evidence that security cameras were pointed at the scene they altered their story. The incident occurred in the middle of Ramadan, which has passed largely peacefully in Jerusalem. Local authorities in Al-Osaibi's native region of Rahat in the Negeb called for a general strike on Sunday in response to the killing. Palestinian Authority presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh warned against what he described as “the dangerous escalation by the Israeli occupation authorities.” The relative calm of Ramadan comes after a violent beginning to the year in Israel and the occupied West Bank, with at least 90 Palestinians killed. In the same period, at least 15 Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank, 14 civilians and a police officer who was hit by friendly fire after being stabbed by a Palestinian teenager while inspecting bus passengers.