Protesters clash with Israeli forces outside Old City as tensions rise over new security measures and limiting of access to holy site
Three Palestinians have been killed in Jerusalem amid escalating protests in the city and across Palestinian territories against new Israeli security measures at a highly sensitive holy site.
Two died in separate incidents in Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem after tense Friday prayers during which thousands of Palestinians prayed in the streets around the Old City after refusing to enter the compound known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, which houses the al-Aqsa mosque. A third died later in Ramallah.
The compound is considered the third holiest site in Islam and the most sacred for Jews, who call it Temple Mount.
Metal detectors were installed by Israeli police after a deadly shootout inside the compound last Friday in which three Israeli-Arab gunmen killed two Israeli policeman at the Lion’s Gate entrance before fleeing back inside and being killed by police.
Palestinians – and the Jordanian administered religious institution, the waqf, which takes care of the site – say the new security controls on worshippers represent a breach of the status quo at the flashpoint location.
Friday’s events came at the end of a tense week in Jerusalem. The Israeli decision to leave the metal detectors in place came after calls on Thursday for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to back down and remove the devices so as not to inflame the situation.
Reporting the three deaths on Friday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Mohammed Abu Ranam and 17-year-old Mohammad Sharaf had been killed in the East Jerusalem neighbourhoods of At-Tur and Ras al-Amud respectively.
The ministry later reported that 17-year-old Muhammad Mahmoud Khalaf had died in hospital in Ramallah after being shot in the chest by Israeli troops during a demonstration in Abu Dis.
The clashes with Israeli security forces followed a call by the waqf for other mosques to remain closed and for Palestinians to converge in the area around the Old City to pray.
In an additional controversial security measure, Israel restricted entry to the mosque area and Old City on Friday to men aged 50 and over and women. Police later fired stun grenades and teargas canisters towards protesters outside the Old City, while Palestinians threw stones and other objects at security forces in some areas.
His friend Daoud Anati, like many Palestinians, accused Israel of using the new metal detectors ”to impose Israeli sovereignty” over the site.
The clashes came as the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, asked the US to “intervene urgently” and compel Israel to remove metal detectors, according to his aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh.
Abu Rdeneh said Abbas had discussed the growing tensions in Jerusalem in a phone call with Donald Trump’s top adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The Palestinian leader told Kushner the situation was “extremely dangerous and may go out of control”, Abu Rdeneh said.
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, also discussed the issue with Abbas and called on the Israeli president, Reuven Rivlin, to press for their removal.
In an attempt to contain what have become nightly confrontations in Jerusalem this week, Israel had drafted in thousands of extra police as well as putting five additional army battalions on stand by in the West Bank.
The city’s top Muslim cleric, Mohammed Hussein, told worshippers on Friday that he expected a “long test of wills” with Israel.
The tension has not been limited to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, with large crowds turning out to protest on Friday against the security measures in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
The Haram al-Sharif-Temple Mount compound, containing the Dome of the Rock and the Aqsa Mosque, has long been a source of religious friction. Since Israel captured and annexed the Old City, including the compound, in the 1967 Middle East war, it has also become a symbol of Palestinian nationalism.
The decision to leave the metal detectors in place came as far-right members of Netanyahu’s government – which relies on religious and rightwing parties for support – had publicly urged him to keep the devices in place.
“Israel is committed to maintaining the status quo at the Temple Mount and the freedom of access to the holy places,” the security cabinet said in a statement.
Friends, if you like this post kindly comment below and do share your responds Thanks for reading
Three Palestinians have been killed in Jerusalem amid escalating protests in the city and across Palestinian territories against new Israeli security measures at a highly sensitive holy site.
Two died in separate incidents in Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem after tense Friday prayers during which thousands of Palestinians prayed in the streets around the Old City after refusing to enter the compound known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, which houses the al-Aqsa mosque. A third died later in Ramallah.
The compound is considered the third holiest site in Islam and the most sacred for Jews, who call it Temple Mount.
Metal detectors were installed by Israeli police after a deadly shootout inside the compound last Friday in which three Israeli-Arab gunmen killed two Israeli policeman at the Lion’s Gate entrance before fleeing back inside and being killed by police.
Palestinians – and the Jordanian administered religious institution, the waqf, which takes care of the site – say the new security controls on worshippers represent a breach of the status quo at the flashpoint location.
Friday’s events came at the end of a tense week in Jerusalem. The Israeli decision to leave the metal detectors in place came after calls on Thursday for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to back down and remove the devices so as not to inflame the situation.
Reporting the three deaths on Friday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Mohammed Abu Ranam and 17-year-old Mohammad Sharaf had been killed in the East Jerusalem neighbourhoods of At-Tur and Ras al-Amud respectively.
The ministry later reported that 17-year-old Muhammad Mahmoud Khalaf had died in hospital in Ramallah after being shot in the chest by Israeli troops during a demonstration in Abu Dis.
The clashes with Israeli security forces followed a call by the waqf for other mosques to remain closed and for Palestinians to converge in the area around the Old City to pray.
In an additional controversial security measure, Israel restricted entry to the mosque area and Old City on Friday to men aged 50 and over and women. Police later fired stun grenades and teargas canisters towards protesters outside the Old City, while Palestinians threw stones and other objects at security forces in some areas.
Palestinian worshippers run for cover from teargas fired by Israeli forces, following prayers outside Jerusalem’s Old City in front of the al-Aqsa mosque compound.
Speaking to the Guardian outside the Old City’s Damascus Gate, Jawad Bibis, 50, said he had crossed four checkpoints to reach the street, where he had finally prayed. “The Israelis kept asking us the same questions. Where are you coming from and why don’t you pray in your own neighbourhood? It is none of their business where I pray,” he saidHis friend Daoud Anati, like many Palestinians, accused Israel of using the new metal detectors ”to impose Israeli sovereignty” over the site.
The clashes came as the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, asked the US to “intervene urgently” and compel Israel to remove metal detectors, according to his aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh.
Abu Rdeneh said Abbas had discussed the growing tensions in Jerusalem in a phone call with Donald Trump’s top adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The Palestinian leader told Kushner the situation was “extremely dangerous and may go out of control”, Abu Rdeneh said.
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, also discussed the issue with Abbas and called on the Israeli president, Reuven Rivlin, to press for their removal.
In an attempt to contain what have become nightly confrontations in Jerusalem this week, Israel had drafted in thousands of extra police as well as putting five additional army battalions on stand by in the West Bank.
The city’s top Muslim cleric, Mohammed Hussein, told worshippers on Friday that he expected a “long test of wills” with Israel.
The tension has not been limited to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, with large crowds turning out to protest on Friday against the security measures in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
The Haram al-Sharif-Temple Mount compound, containing the Dome of the Rock and the Aqsa Mosque, has long been a source of religious friction. Since Israel captured and annexed the Old City, including the compound, in the 1967 Middle East war, it has also become a symbol of Palestinian nationalism.
The decision to leave the metal detectors in place came as far-right members of Netanyahu’s government – which relies on religious and rightwing parties for support – had publicly urged him to keep the devices in place.
“Israel is committed to maintaining the status quo at the Temple Mount and the freedom of access to the holy places,” the security cabinet said in a statement.
Friends, if you like this post kindly comment below and do share your responds Thanks for reading
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