Muslims enter Jerusalem holy site for first time in two weeks

Jerusalem, July 27 

Palestinians ended a boycott and entered a sensitive Jerusalem holy site for the first time in two weeks today after Israel removed controversial security measures there, potentially ending a crisis that sparked deadly unrest.

AFP journalists saw thousands of worshippers streaming into the Haram al-Sharif compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, for afternoon prayers. The site includes the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock.

A last-minute confrontation threatened to derail the planned end of the boycott as Israeli police were keeping one of the gates leading to the holy site closed.

The gate is where two Israeli policemen were killed on July 14, prompting the new security measures.

Police later opened the gate and Palestinians stuck to their plan to end the boycott.

A tense standoff had been underway between Israel and Muslim worshippers at the holy site despite the removal of metal detectors on Tuesday.

Newly installed railings and scaffolding where cameras were previously mounted were also cleared early Thursday, after which police said all new security measures had now been removed.

Muslims had refused to enter the compound and prayed in the streets outside after Israel installed the new security measures. Palestinians viewed the move as Israel asserting further control.

In response to the removal of the security measures, Muslim authorities called on worshippers to return.

Israeli authorities said the metal detectors were needed because the July 14 attackers smuggled guns into the compound and emerged from it to attack the officers.

Deadly unrest erupted in the days after the new measures were introduced, with clashes breaking out around the compound and in the occupied West Bank, leaving five Palestinians dead.

A Palestinian also broke into a home in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank last week and stabbed four Israelis, killing three of them.

Meanwhile, clashes erupted between the Israeli police and Palestinians at the sensitive holy site today as Muslim worshippers entered to end a boycott of the compound.  The Palestinian Red Crescent reported 46 persons wounded both inside the Haram al-Sharif compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and in the immediate area. The reasons for the clashes inside the compound were not immediately clear. — AFP

Fate of site an emotional issue

• The fate of the site is an emotional issue at the heart of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Even the smallest perceived change to delicate arrangements pertaining to the site sparks tensions
• Israel’s decision to add security measures there outraged Muslim and triggered protests, and low-level clashes have continued in and around Jerusalem in the days since
• The continued standoff highlighted the deep distrust between Israel and the Palestinians when it comes to the holy site
• Jews revere the hilltop compound in Jerusalem’s Old City as the Temple Mount, site of the two Jewish biblical temples
• It is the holiest site in Judaism and the nearby Western Wall, a remnant of one of the temples, is the holiest place where Jews can pray
• Muslims believe the site marks the spot from which the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. It is Islam’s third- holiest site after Mecca and Medina

Prime Minister Netanyahu in tough spot

• The latest development could put Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a tough spot as he tries to tamp out a wave of unrest that has triggered international pressure while not appearing to his hard-line base as capitulating
• A senior member of Netanyahu’s coalition government criticised Israel’s dismantling of the security devices warning it could spell more violence
• Naftali Bennett, leader of Jewish Home party, said “every time Israel folds in a strategic way we get hit with an Intifada. You seemingly benefit in the short term but in the long term you harm deterrence”