Man grabs Israeli cop's gun near Al Aqsa mosque, is shot dead -police

A man detained by Israeli police near a flashpoint mosque compound in Jerusalem on Saturday grabbed an officer's gun and fired it, prompting the unit to shoot him dead, the force said on Saturday, describing the incident as a terrorist attack.

A man detained by Israeli police near a flashpoint mosque compound in Jerusalem on Saturday grabbed an officer's gun and fired it, prompting the unit to shoot him dead, the force said on Saturday, describing the incident as a terrorist attack. The incident at the Al Aqsa mosque compound, an icon of Palestinian nationalism, came at a high point of Muslim attendance for the holy month of Ramadan.

The police statement identified the slain man as a 26-year-old resident of Hura, a Bedouin town in south Israel. There were no police casualties, it added. Reuters could not immediately verify the account independently.

Israeli-Palestinian tensions are simmering after months of violence in areas of Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. (Writing by Dan Williams Editing by Chris Reese)