A gunman on a motorcycle shot a well-known Israeli-American alternatively described as activist and agitator in an apparent assassination attempt.  Yehuda Glick had just finished a talk on pushing for more Jewish access and prayer rights at the hotly contested Temple Mount.

“This is a very serious incident,” Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said at the scene of the shooting.  “We will hold those responsible fully accountable.”

Police are investigating the possibility that the assailant was a Palestinian.  An ultra conservative member of the Knesset who claims to have witnessed the shooting is positive, saying the gunman asked for Glick by name, speaking with what MK Moshe Feiglin calls a “heavy Arabic accent”.  Glick was rushed to hospital and underwent surgery for massive chest wounds.

At least the very least, Yehuda Glick is viewed as a provocative figure who frequently makes red hot tensions between Jews and Muslims even worse.  The police have banned him from the Temple Mount because of his demonstrations, and he’s challenged the ban in court.  The site is revered as by Jews as the holiest site of ancient temples.  It’s also the location of the Al Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, and believed to be the place wear the Prophet Mohammad ascended into heaven. 

But the shooting comes with escalating violence and fears of a new intifada by Palestinians.  Clashes between Israeli cops and Palestinian youths with rocks and petrol bombs have occurred every night lately.

Police beefed up their numbers as right-wing activists began heading to the ancient for whatever happens on Thursday.