Yerushalayim Police Quell Riots On Har Habayis

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riot-yerushalayim-har-habayisPolice forces entered the al-Aqsa Mosque plaza on the Har Habayis this morning after dozens of Arab youths who barricaded themselves in the mosque on Motzoei Shabbos began hurling stones at passersby entering the Temple Mount compound.

Two policemen and two Border Guard officers were lightly injured by stones hurled in the Old City’s alleys. They received medical treatment on site and resumed their activity. At least 18 protestors were injured and seven were arrested, according to Yediot Achronot

Sources in the mosque reported that at least eight people were hurt by tear gas. According to the Palestinians, hundreds of policemen encircled the mosque, demanding that the youths evacuate themselves.

The police reported that some 30 Arab youths had barricaded themselves inside the mosques and that efforts made by the Waqf – the council managing Muslim sites – to remove them had failed. Police entered the mount’s plaza following the stone throwing and closed its gates, and the youths fled into the mosque.

The police then opened the mount’s gates, but restricted entrance to the site to male worshippers with Israeli identity cards over the age of 50 and to female worshippers of all ages.

The mufti of Yerushalayim and the Palestinian Authority condemned the police forces’ entry to the mosque compound, which he said was aimed at allowing extremists to enter the area. He warned against the serious implications of the police’s entry.

Waqf sources claimed that Jews had entered the compound and were protected by the police. A Yerushalayim Police official strongly denied the claim, saying that “this is a lie. Some 1,000 visitors have entered the Har Habayit since the morning hours, both Jews and non-Jews.”

Visits to the site continue as usual, although stones are occasionally being thrown from the mosques towards the police forces stationed at the entrances.

Stones were occasionally thrown at police officers in the alleys of the Old City, including near the Antonia Fortress, which is one of the entrances to the Har Habayis. There were no reports of injuries. Seven suspects were detained for questioning.

Some 100 girls who attempted to launch a protest march in the Sultan Suleiman area in east Jerusalem were stopped by the police.

It is estimated that today’s events at the Hara Habyis come following the tension that arose over Israel’s decision to include the Meoras Hamachpeilah in Chevron and Kever Rochel in Bais Lechem to its list of national heritage sites.

Members of the Waqf and various Islamic organizations, including the Islamic Movement, urged Muslims over the weekend to flock to the Har Habyis, claiming that “radical Jewish organizations have called on their followers to arrive at the mount today and on Tuesday in an attempt to lay the cornerstone for the temple.”

{Ynet/Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel}


3 COMMENTS

  1. I can’t help but recall the historic first words uttered by Capt. Mota Gur during the 6-day war, and weep bitterre treren:
    “Har Habayit Biyadainu! Har Habayit B’yadainu!”

    How have we squandered this gift!

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