Israeli security forces thwarted an attempted terrorist attack near Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem on Wednesday afternoon.

According to Israeli police, a man ran towards officers at the Cotton Merchants’ Gate shouting “Allahu Akbar”.

He was shot dead at the scene.

Police did not say if the suspect was armed, but reports from journalists in the area suggest he may have been carrying a knife.

There were no other injuries in the attack.

Tensions have been very high in the region over the last two months, with a number of terrorist attacks taking place in Jerusalem and across Israel. Israeli forces have been conducting additional security operations in the West Bank as a result.

This latest attempted attack comes just hours after veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead in Jenin while wearing a flak jacket market ‘PRESS’.

The circumstances surrounding her death remain unclear. Videos released online show an exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants, but Palestinians claim that she was targeted by an IDF sniper.

The Palestinian Authority has so far refused the offer of a joint investigation with Israel into her death.

Just five days, three fathers of 16 children were murdered by two axe-wielding terrorists in the strictly Orthodox city of Elad.