Muslims refuse to enter Al Aqsa after Israel installs metal detectors
Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem reopened yesterday after a deadly attack, but some Muslims refused to enter because of new Israeli security measures including metal detectors and cameras.
Crowds chanted “Allahu akbar” as visitors entered Jerusalem’s Haram Al Sharif compound, which includes Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
On Friday, three Arab-Israeli gunmen shot dead two Israeli policemen on the outskirts of the site, holy to Muslims and Jews, before fleeing to the compound.
They were killed by security forces in one of the most serious attacks in the area in years.
“We reject the changes imposed by the Israeli government,” said Sheikh Omar Kiswani, director of Al Aqsa. “We will not enter through these metal detectors.”
Some women wailed and cried while telling people not to enter.
Waheeb Liftawi, 52, prayed inside Al Aqsa at midday without knowing about the calls to remain outside.
But in the afternoon he prayed outside.
“These things should not be put in front of a place of worship, a mosque,” Mr Liftawi said.
“This is why we refuse this or this will become the status quo.”
Later in the day, a funeral procession sought to enter with a coffin but was not allowed through.
Israeli authorities said the gunmen had come from the holy site to commit the attack. Israel made the highly unusual decision to close Al Aqsa Mosque compound for Friday prayers, triggering anger from Muslims and from Jordan, the custodian of the holy site.
The site remained closed on Saturday, while parts of Jerusalem’s Old City were also under lockdown.
Israeli authorities said the closure was necessary to carry out security checks and announced that it would reopen the compound yesterday.
Two of the nine gates to the site were back in operation, equipped with metal detectors, in what Israel described as a gradual reopening.
Haram Al Sharif is central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as Palestinians fear Israel may one day seek to assert further control over it.
It is in East Jerusalem, which was occupied by Israel in 1967 and later annexed in a move not recognised by the international community.
The sacred site is the third-holiest in Islam and the most sacred for Jews.
Under the status quo agreement, which prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Saturday to continue upholding, Jews are allowed to enter the compound under close supervision, but only Muslims are permitted to worship there.
Leaders of the Muslim religious trust that runs the site urged worshippers not to pass through the metal detectors, describing them as a breach of a delicate status quo with Israel.
They held a prayer service next to the devices instead.
Several Palestinians ignored the call, while at the second entrance more people went into the compound.
We reject the changes imposed by the Israeli government. We will not enter through these metal detectors