Israel lifts restrictions at Jerusalem shrine
Muslims of all ages are allowed to pray at the holy site.
Muslim prayers at a major Jerusalem shrine, the epicenter of weeks of unrest, ended peacefully Friday after Israel lifted restrictions on worshippers in an apparent bid to ease tensions.
Meanwhile, violence continued in the West Bank where Palestinians threw a firebomb at an Israeli car, wounding a mother and her two children. An Israeli news site said one of the children, a 4-year-old girl, was badly burned.
The decision to allow Muslims of all ages to pray at the site coincided with a diplomatic push by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to restore calm. This includes getting all sides to agree on the ground rules at the Muslim-run shrine and prevent future tensions.
Kerry is meeting over the weekend with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, custodian of the holy site, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, after holding talks Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who just returned from talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, said that “despite the anger and the polarization, there is still time to step back from the brink.”
The current round of violence erupted in mid-September, with clashes at the Jerusalem shrine, revered by Muslims and Jews, quickly spreading to the rest of the city, as well as the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
On Friday, Palestinians threw a firebomb at a passing Israeli car, wounding a woman and her two children in the West Bank, the Israeli military said. The Haaretz daily said a 4-year-old girl sustained burns on 35 percent of her body while her sister and mother were lightly wounded.
The attack came after a Palestinian stabbed a soldier in the West Bank and was shot by troops, the military said. The soldier and the Palestinian — a 16-year-old, according to Israeli media reports — were wounded.
Earlier, confrontations erupted on the Israel-Gaza border, with hundreds of Palestinians throwing stones and rolling burning tires toward the border fence, the military said. Several dozen then rushed toward the fence and tried to damage it, the army said.
Two Palestinians were wounded by army fire, Gaza health officials said. The military said soldiers initially fired warning shots.
In the past five weeks, 10 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, mostly stabbings. Forty-eight Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 27 said by Israel to be attackers and the rest in clashes.
Tension around the Jerusalem shrine, a 37-acre hilltop platform, has been one of the triggers of the current violence.
Israel has repeatedly denied Palestinian allegations that it is trying to change long-standing understandings under which Jews are allowed to visit, but not pray at the shrine. Israel has accused Palestinian political and religious leaders of lying and inciting to violence.
Palestinians say their fears have been fueled by a rise in visits to the shrine by Jewish activists demanding prayer rights, including senior members of Netanyahu’s coalition government.
The hilltop compound is a frequent flashpoint and its fate is a core issue at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is the holiest site in Judaism, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, once home to their biblical Temples.
Muslims call it the Noble Sanctuary and believe it is the spot where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. It is the third holiest site in Islam and houses the Al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques.