Clashes at disputed shrine as Muslim worshippers return

Clashes erupted between Israeli police and Palestinian worshippers at a contested Jerusalem shrine yesterday shortly after the site reopened following an 11-day Muslim prayer boycott.

Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as Palestinians threw stones inside the walled compound that is holy to both Muslims and Jews.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said 37 Palestinians were hurt, including some by rubber bullets and beatings. It said several people suffered broken bones.

Israeli police said the police responded after stones were thrown at officers at the gates to the site.

The Red Crescent said tensions arose when Israeli troops closed one of the gates to the compound as large numbers of worshippers tried to enter.

The shrine had been at the centre of an Israeli-palestinian stand-off over recent Israeli security installations at the site.

Israel installed new security devices at the shrine after Israeli Arabs shot and killed two police officers from within the site.

Palestinians had been praying in Jerusalem’s streets outside the shrine to protest the security measures taken since the 14 July attack.

Once Israel removed metal detectors and cameras yesterday, Muslim leaders told the faithful to return to pray at the Al-aqsa Mosque in the compound. Droves of Palestinians entered for afternoon prayers, some waving national flags.

Muslim leaders declared: “After extensive discussion and after achieving this victory in this round we call on our people in Jerusalem and inside (Israel) and anyone who can access the Al-aqsa Mosque to enter … en masse.”

Abdel Azim Salhab of the Waqf, Jordan’s religious body that administers the site, had urged imams to close other Jerusalem mosques Friday so worshippers will pray only at the Al-aqsa Mosque.

Friday prayers are the highlight of the Muslim religious week. Thousands of Muslims typically worship at the compound.

Salhab said all devices had been removed from the entrances but he didn’t know if security cameras mounted on the wall of the compound were also dismantled. If they remain, he said, then “we reject it.”

King Abdullah of Jordan urged Israel to “respect the historical and legal situation in the holy shrine to prevent the recurrence of these crises.”

Jordan is the Muslim custodian of the shrine Islam’s third holiest site. Muslims believe the site marks the spot where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.