A Palestinian man succumbed to his injuries on Thursday night after being shot by Israeli occupation forces inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem more than two years ago, according to local sources.
Hamza Abu Sneneh, 30, from the Old City of Jerusalem, was wounded by an Israeli rubber-coated bullet on May 7, 2021, when Israeli occupation soldiers stormed the holy site as thousands of worshipers were performing Taraweeh prayers during the holy month of Ramadan.
The bullet caused multiple fractures in his skull and the loss of his left eye. He was taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital for treatment, but was arrested by Israeli occupation forces a few days later despite his critical condition. He was later released.
Abu Sneneh suffered from the effects of the injury for the past two years, and his health deteriorated in the weeks before his death. He was married and had two daughters. His family lives in the Bab Hatta neighborhood in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, also known as Haram al-Sharif, is the third holiest site in Islam and a flashpoint of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel occupied Jerusalem, where the compound is located, in 1967 and later annexed it in a move not recognized by most of the international community.
Palestinians have long accused Israel of trying to change the status quo of the compound, which allows Muslims to pray there while non-Muslims can only visit. Israel denies this allegation and claims that it respects the existing arrangements.
The shooting of Abu Sneneh was part of a series of Israeli violent incidents that erupted in Jerusalem in May 2021, following Israeli attempts to evict Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and restrict access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during Ramadan.
The tensions escalated into a full-scale war between Israel and Palestinian resistance in Gaza which lasted for 11 days and killed more than 250 people, mostly Palestinians. A ceasefire was reached on May 21, 2021, but sporadic clashes and protests have continued since then.
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