Palestinian man dies of injuries from May 2021 Temple Mount clash
Hamza Abu Sneineh, 30, was hit by rubber bullet fired by police, causing him to lose eye and suffer multiple skull fractures; Hamas, Islamic Jihad terror groups hail ‘martyr’
Michael Horovitz is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel
A Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem died Thursday from wounds sustained during a major clash with police at the flashpoint Temple Mount site in May 2021, days before an 11-day conflict broke out between Israel and Gazan terror groups, Palestinian media reported.
Hamza Abu Sneineh, 30, a father of two girls, was hit by a rubber-tipped bullet causing him to lose his left eye and leading to multiple skull fractures.
He was treated at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Jerusalem and then later released, but was in poor health ever since, reports said.
His condition deteriorated a few weeks ago, and he died Thursday evening. He was buried Friday morning near the Old City’s Lions’ Gate.
The Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups both issued statements calling Abu Sneineh a “martyr.”
“The struggling Palestinian people, who continue their revolution for the sake of Jerusalem and Al Aqsa, will honor their covenant with the martyrs and prisoners until the end of the occupation,” Hamas said.
“As we console the family of the martyr and our people in Jerusalem, we affirm that the blood of the martyrs spilled in all arenas will triumph over the sword of occupation,” the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group said in a statement.
Watch: Palestinians mourn Hamza Abu Sneineh who succumbed to the critical wounds that he sustained by Israeli occupation forces at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque two years ago. pic.twitter.com/tIPcAMDw55
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) August 18, 2023
It backed “the steadfastness of our Jerusalemites in the face of Judaization and sacrilege attempts, which will remain the center of confrontation until freedom and salvation.”
Abu Sneineh was injured on the night of May 7, 2021, when police burst into the Al-Aqsa Mosque after Palestinians threw rocks and bottles at officers, amid widespread clashes and spiraling tensions in Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Tensions continued to skyrocket until Hamas fired a barrage of rockets at Israel on the evening of May 10, 2021, prompting the Israel Defense Forces to launch Operation Guardian of the Walls in the enclave.
During the conflict, severe, unprecedented intercommunal violence spread to mixed Jewish-Arab cities across Israel.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
