TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: A terrorist attack at the Mughrabi Gate may have been thwarted.

Lupolianski assassination plot foiled
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS (Jerusalem Post)

Three Jerusalem Arabs have been charged with planning a series of terrorist attacks in the city, including the assassination of Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, a suicide bombing and a shooting attack near the Western Wall, security officials said Sunday.

The suspects, who were arrested two weeks ago, were charged Friday in a Jerusalem court with establishing contacts with a foreign agent, conspiring to assist an enemy in time of war, and aiding a terrorist group.

A gag order imposed on the case was lifted on Sunday evening.

According to the indictment, late last year Mamoun Abu Tir and Atallah Abu Tir, both 19 and from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Umm Tuba, decided to set up a terrorist cell.

[...]

Mamoun Abu Tir allegedly discussed attacks on various individuals, including the mayor of Jerusalem, and plans for a shooting attack at the Mughrabi Gate leading to the Temple Mount.

[...]

If there was a plot, it doesn't seem likely to be a coincidence that the attack was to take place at this spot, whose excavation by Israeli archaeologists has already generated lots of controversy, including protests in the Islamic world and violent protest in Jerusalem.