Israel security shake-up at mosque

ISRAEL has removed metal detectors from a Muslim holy site in Jerusalem after they sparked a wave of violence.

The security measures at the main entrance to the al-Aqsa mosque compound in the city’s Temple Mount were taken down in the early hours of yesterday.

Security cameras will be installed instead following top level talks over fears the violence – in which three Israelis and four Palestinians have died – could spread.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the detectors would be replaced by “security measures based on advanced technologies and other means” which would “ensure the security of visitors and worshippers”.

Israel introduced metal detectors after two guards were killed by Israeli-Arab gunmen who fired from inside the shrine on July 14.

But Palestinians have criticised the move. Waqf, the Islamic organisation that runs the compound, called for a return to pre-July 14 security levels and urged worshippers to stay away until it had assessed the latest measures.

It comes after crisis talks with neighbouring Jordan, where an Israeli guard shot two Jordanians after one attacked him with a screwdriver at the Israeli Embassy on Sunday.

And in Turkey, protesters last week hurled stones at a synagogue in Istanbul.