Three killed as clashes erupt over Al Aqsa metal detectors
occupied jerusalem — Three Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded on Friday as clashes erupted between protesters and Israeli forces over new security measures at Al Aqsa Mosque compound where police restricted access for Muslim prayers.
One Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli gunfire in the A Tur neighbourhood of east Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
A second Palestinian was killed by gunfire in east Jerusalem’s Ras Al Amud neighbourhood, while a third was shot dead in Abu Dis in the occupied West Bank, the ministry said, without providing details on the circumstances.
Israel’s army confirmed it was involved in clashes in Abu Dis.
The unrest came after Israeli ministers decided not to order the removal of metal detectors erected at entrances to the Haram Al Sharif compound.
In anticipation of protests on Friday, Israeli police barred men under 50 from entering Jerusalem’s Old City for prayers, while all women were allowed in.
Hundreds held Friday prayers near the gates of the Old City in protest. According to police, dozens of people entered the compound.
Crowds gathered outside Jerusalem’s Old City found shops closed and streets around Damascus Gate — the entrance most heavily used by Palestinians — blocked.
A group of several hundred people, including Muslim leaders, marched towards the Lions Gate entrance to the mosque compound, but police informed them that only men aged 50 or over would be allowed in.
Police later fired grenades and tear gas towards protesters outside the Old City, while Palestinians threw stones and other objects at security forces in some areas.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 109 people were wounded in occupied Jerusalem, of whom 38 were taken to hospital. No injury toll was given for the West Bank.
“They turned back everyone who came here to pray but then I told them I was going to the doctor, but they did not let me in,” said Ulfat Hamad, 42, who was visiting from the United States.
“I am going to pray here with others,” he said outside the walls.
Tensions have risen since police installed the metal detectors in a move Palestinians and other Muslims perceive as a means for Israel to assert further control over the compound.
The controversy has resonated beyond Israel and the Palestinian territories, with the United States and the UN Middle East envoy expressing concern.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke with US counterpart Donald Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
He urged the US administration to immediately intervene, warning the situation was “extremely dangerous and might spiral out of control”, the Palestinians’ official Wafa news agency reported.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan too has called on Israel to remove the detectors. He spoke by telephone with both Abbas and Israeli president Reuven Rivlin on Thursday.
Radical Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed the metal detectors were intended to ensure the safety of worshippers and visitors and not an attempt to disturb the fragile status quo under which Jordan is custodian of the site.
Palestinians have been refusing to enter the compound all week in protest at the metal detectors.
The Friday prayers draw the largest number of worshippers — typically thousands — and speculation had been mounting that Netanyahu might order the metal detectors removed. — AFP