JERUSALEM -- Arab assailants struck at ground zero of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Friday, opening fire from inside a major Jerusalem shrine and killing two Israeli policemen before being shot dead.
The rare attack from within the sacred site, revered by both Muslims and Jews, raised new concerns about an escalation of violence. The three attackers were Arab citizens of Israel, also a rarity in a rash of Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers that broke out about two years ago, in part over tensions at the holy site.
Jerusalem Police Commissioner Yoram Halevy said the attack was well-planned: The assailants had obtained automatic weapons and stayed at the holy compound the night before. He said they marked their targets in advance and after shooting them ran back inside the compound. "The entire incident began and ended" at the holy compound, he told Channel 10 TV.
After the violence, Israel closed the site -- known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount -- for further sweeps to make sure there were no more weapons there.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it would reopen gradually after security evaluations Sunday.
Jordan, a custodian of the sacred compound, called for its immediate reopening to allow access to Muslim worshippers.
Netanyahu acted quickly to allay Muslim fears, saying the status quo at the Muslim-administered site "will be preserved."
Jews revere the site, where two Jewish temples stood in biblical times, as the Temple Mount. It is the holiest site in Judaism, and the nearby Western Wall, a remnant of one of the temples, is the holiest place where Jews can pray.
Muslims regard the same hilltop compound as the Noble Sanctuary. Home to the Al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock, it is Islam's third-holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
The fate of the area is an emotional issue at the heart of the conflict and forms the centerpiece of rival Israeli and Palestinian national narratives.
After Friday's attack, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said, "We cannot allow for agents of murder who desecrate the name of God to drag us into a bloody war."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reached out to Netanyahu in a phone call, highlighting the concern about a possible escalation. The leaders have almost no direct contact.
Abbas condemned the attack and said he rejects "any violence from any party, particularly at holy sites," according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Police were investigating how the weapons were carried into the site.
Roni Alsheikh, the Israeli police chief, said the attackers opened fire on the Israeli officers from inside the site. In response, "a police force charged at the terrorists, killed two and wounded the third," he said. The wounded assailant used a knife to attack an Israeli officer checking him for explosives and was killed, the police chief said.
Footage released by police shows the attackers with guns raised running from inside the compound and attacking the officers on duty at the entrance.
A relative said the attackers were members of the Jabareen clan -- two 19-year-olds and a 29-year-old.
They were devout Muslims and frequently visited the shrine, traveling to Jerusalem by bus from their homes in northern Israel, the relative, Yehiyeh Jabareen, said in an interview. He said the family was in shock over the shooting.
He confirmed the authenticity of a post on the Facebook page of one of the younger attackers that showed him flashing a half-smile. "God willing, tomorrow's smile will be more beautiful," read the caption.
The two slain policemen -- Advanced Staff Sgt. Maj. Hael Sathawi, 30, and Advanced Staff Sgt. Maj. Kamil Shanan, 22, were members of Israel's Druze community, followers of a secretive off-shoot of Islam.
Shanan was a son of Shachiv Shanan, a former member of parliament for the Labor Party. Sathawi left a wife and a 3-week-old baby, police said.
The closing of the shrine, which rarely happens, meant the cancellation of noon prayers, which typically draw tens of thousands of Muslims from Israel and the West Bank to the compound on Fridays. The faithful performed prayers in the streets near the Old City instead.
In the past two years, Palestinians have killed 45 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British tourist in stabbings, shootings and attacks using cars to ram into Israeli civilians and troops.
During that period, Israeli forces have killed more than 254 Palestinians, most of them said by Israel to be attackers while others were killed in clashes with Israeli forces.
Israel blames the violence on incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders compounded on social media sites that glorify violence and encourage attacks.
Palestinians say the attacks are triggered by anger over decades of Israeli occupation of territories they claim for their future state.
Information for this article was contributed by Mohammed Daraghmeh and Karin Laub of The Associated Press.
A Section on 07/15/2017