Palestinians injured in clashes with Israeli police after celebrating mosque ‘victory’
Violence erupts again in Jerusalem after metal detectors and barriers removed from holy site
CLASHES broke out inside Jerusalem’s al-aqsa mosque compound yesterday as thousands of Palestinians returned to the holy site for the first time in two weeks after a standoff with police.
Israel installed metal detectors, cameras and railings outside the mosque after two of its police officers were shot dead on July 14 but the move led to a backlash of both civil protest and violence from Palestinians.
Thousands of Palestinians prayed outside the mosque each day rather than go through the new security setup. But yesterday, the Israeli government removed the last of the railings and the Waqf, the Islamic authority that administers the mosque, gave the all-clear for worshippers to return.
Thousands of worshippers streamed into the Haram al-sharif compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, for afternoon prayers. Some shed tears as they entered while others shouted “Allahu Akbar” in joy.
Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, hailed the removal of the barriers as a “victory”.
But clashes soon broke out between riot police and parts of the crowd. Palestinian officials said 46 Palestinians were injured. Israeli police said youths had thrown stones at Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall.
Palestinian factions had called for a Day of Rage against Israeli forces today and Israeli officials said they expected large demonstrations would go ahead.
Four Palestinians were killed at the weekend in clashes with troops and three Israelis were stabbed to death in their home in a West Bank settlement by a young Palestinian.
Palestinian political and religious groups that are often at odds with each other have been galvanised and united by the protests over al-aqsa and may be reluctant to lose the momentum of the last two weeks. Mahmoud Abbas, the unpopular Palestinian president, has appeared emboldened by the protests and reportedly gave permission for the armed wing of his Fatah party to help organise confrontations with Israeli forces today.
An Israeli security official told The Daily Telegraph that the demonstrations today might be even larger than last week because of the involvement of Fatah’s Tanzim militia. “We understand that tensions still exist [despite metal detectors gone] and we’re still working on the assumption things will erupt tomorrow [Friday],” the official said yesterday.
Palestinian youths are expected to confront Israeli forces at checkpoints throughout the occupied West Bank and may try to block roads that lead to Israeli settlements.
Palestinian and Israeli security agencies usually work closely together to prevent large demonstrations from spinning out of control but because of the al-aqsa situation, Mr Abbas has ordered his forces not to cooperate with Israeli troops.
The Israeli official said they were also bracing for more “lone wolf” attacks by young Palestinians who were motivated by the mosque confrontation to attempt knife attacks against either Israeli soldiers or civilians. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has come under fire from all sides for his handling of the crisis. Moderates criticised him for putting up the metal detectors despite the risk of a Palestinian backlash while the Right accused him of giving in to Palestinian pressure to remove them.
The King of Jordan also attacked Mr Netanyahu for giving a hero’s welcome to an Israeli diplomatic security guard who killed two Jordanians this week after being attacked at the Israeli embassy in Jordan.
King Abdullah said it was “absolutely unacceptable” that the prime minister was photographed embracing the guard after he and other Israeli diplomats were evacuated from Jordan.