Two Israeli police officers shot when Arab assailants opened fire in Jerusalem's Old City on Friday have died from their wounds, authorities said.

Police confirmed the deaths, with the three Arab Israeli attackers also shot dead by security forces after fleeing to an ultra-sensitive holy site in Jerusalem's Old City.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the two officers died in hospital.

The incident was among the most serious in Jerusalem in recent years and threatened to raise Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

Arab Israelis are descendants of Palestinians who remained on their land following the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

They largely identify with the Palestinian cause.

The three assailants were killed at the site known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as the Temple Mount, the location of regular clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police, but where gunfire rarely occurs.

The site includes the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock.

The Al-Aqsa mosque was closed for Friday prayers after the attack by Israeli authorities in a highly unusual move.

Source: AFP