CAIRO, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Egypt expressed grave concern on Friday over violent acts at the al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, where a fatal shooting attack took place earlier in the day.
Spokesman for Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Abu Zaid, warned in a press statement of any consequences that may undermine the international and regional efforts to revive the stalled Palestinian-Israel peace process.
He urged all parties to show restraint to avoid descending into a cycle of violence as well as taking measures that might affect the freedom to worship in the al-Aqsa Mosque.
Three Arab citizens of Israel opened fire at a group of Israeli police officers Friday morning near the gates of the compound, injuring two officers who later died in hospital from their wounds, and moderately injuring a third officer.
The gunmen were subsequently shot and killed by the police.
The al-Aqsa mosque compound, holy to both Muslims and Jews, is one of the most sensitive sites in the region. Muslims revere it as the Noble Sanctuary, and Jews know it as the Temple Mount.
Israel annexed the site, together with the rest of East Jerusalem, shortly after it seized the territory from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war.
The al-Aqsa compound has been at the center of a spate of bloody violence in the West Bank and Israel that broke in mid-September 2015.
In a rare talk over the phone, Abbas told the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he denounces the attack.
