I believe that this incident happened on a Friday, probably right after his prayers at the mosque.
I bet it WAS right after the Mosque. We were in Jerusalem one Friday afternoon, right after the mosque. A swarm of humanity came through the Old City, and they were amped and pumped up. It was 1999, so no beheadings.
I thot this was standard -- 'mild-mannered reporter' by day, the family is always surprised.