Jerusalem mosque’s metal detectors to stay

NOT YIELDING Israel is wary of being seen to bow to pressure by the Palestinians

Israel said on Sunday it would not remove metal detectors whose installation outside a Jerusalem mosque has triggered the bloodiest clashes with the Palestinians in years, but could eventually reduce their use.

Fuelling fears of an escalation, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he would halt security ties with Israel until it scraps the walk-through gates installed at entrances to al-Aqsa mosque plaza after two police guards were shot dead on July 14.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is wary of being seen to yield to Palestinian pressure over the site.

“They (metal detectors) will remain. The murderers will never tell us how to search the murderers,” Tzachi Hanegbi, Israeli minister for regional development, told Army Radio.

Incensed at what they perceive as a violation of delicate decadesold access arrangements at the site, many Palestinians have refused to go through the metal detectors, holding street prayers and often violent protests.

Israeli security forces shot three demonstrators dead on Friday, medics said. A fourth Palestinian was killed on Saturday when an explosive device he was building went off prematurely.

In a sign unrest was spreading, a Palestinian stabbed three Israelis in the occupied West Bank on Friday. On Sunday, a rocket was launched into Israel from the Gaza Strip but caused no damage.

The UN security council has scheduled a session on the crisis for Monday.