Spoetnik
06-06-05, 15:03
Abbas blames Israel for unrest on Temple Mount
By Jonathan Lis and Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondents, and News Agencies
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of bearing responsibility for violent clashes between police and Arab worshippers on the Temple Mount on Monday.
Abbas said the Jews - who visited the site to mark Jerusalem Day - should not have been allowed into the mosque compound. "The Israeli government and the international community must stop these unjustified and dangerous violations. They are to prevent any friction with bad results," he said during a tour of a Palestinian high school in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Israeli police rushed into the Temple Mount compound and faced down hundreds of stone-throwing Palestinians outside the Al Aqsa mosque on Monday as Jews visited the site on the anniversary of the capture of the Old City and East Jerusalem during the 1967 war.
A police spokesman said forces moved onto the compound, sacred to Jews as the site of the ancient Temples and to Muslims as the site from which Mohammed ascended to heaven, after several hundred Palestinians
threw stones at Jewish visitors near the shrine.
He said two Jews were injured.
In less than an hour, relative calm had been restored, with officials of the Waqf Islamic trust working to minimize tensions on the Palestinian side and Israeli police refraining from further action.
The incident began when two groups entered the compound with police escorts. A first group of tourists visited the site unhindered. A group of Jews then approached the entrance to the Temple Mount. Palestinians hurled stones at the second group and the police who accompanied them. One of the Palestinians drew close to the second group, and was arrested by police who suspected that he intended to attack them.
Having requested backup from forces nearby, police responded with several stun grenades toward the Palestinians throwing stones near the entrance gate to the compound, said police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby.
The encounter became a standoff, as the Palestinians stood near the police, chanting slogans, but refraining from further clashes.
Hundreds of young Palestinians congregated near the Al Aqsa Mosque, chanting towards policemen and Jewish visitors at the site.
Police do not believe the events were planned in advance by the Palestinians.
The site is one of the most politically sensitive in the holy city. The Palestinian uprising known as the Intifada erupted in September 2000 after Israel's opposition leader at the time, Ariel Sharon, toured the compound.
Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky urged the far-right Temple Mount Faithful group not to go ahead with plans to try to enter the compound.
Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, while Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its eternal and indivisible capital.
In recent weeks, Islamic figures have warned of attempts by Jews to enter, in some instances even harm, the site. The warnings have become more amplified in the days leading up to Jerusalem Day, when Jewish far-rightists have asked to visit the site.
The clashes on the Temple Mount came as a suprise to police, who forecasted calm at the site Monday. Police officials emphasize, however, that no rocks reached the Western Wall plaza.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/584941.html
By Jonathan Lis and Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondents, and News Agencies
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of bearing responsibility for violent clashes between police and Arab worshippers on the Temple Mount on Monday.
Abbas said the Jews - who visited the site to mark Jerusalem Day - should not have been allowed into the mosque compound. "The Israeli government and the international community must stop these unjustified and dangerous violations. They are to prevent any friction with bad results," he said during a tour of a Palestinian high school in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Israeli police rushed into the Temple Mount compound and faced down hundreds of stone-throwing Palestinians outside the Al Aqsa mosque on Monday as Jews visited the site on the anniversary of the capture of the Old City and East Jerusalem during the 1967 war.
A police spokesman said forces moved onto the compound, sacred to Jews as the site of the ancient Temples and to Muslims as the site from which Mohammed ascended to heaven, after several hundred Palestinians
threw stones at Jewish visitors near the shrine.
He said two Jews were injured.
In less than an hour, relative calm had been restored, with officials of the Waqf Islamic trust working to minimize tensions on the Palestinian side and Israeli police refraining from further action.
The incident began when two groups entered the compound with police escorts. A first group of tourists visited the site unhindered. A group of Jews then approached the entrance to the Temple Mount. Palestinians hurled stones at the second group and the police who accompanied them. One of the Palestinians drew close to the second group, and was arrested by police who suspected that he intended to attack them.
Having requested backup from forces nearby, police responded with several stun grenades toward the Palestinians throwing stones near the entrance gate to the compound, said police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby.
The encounter became a standoff, as the Palestinians stood near the police, chanting slogans, but refraining from further clashes.
Hundreds of young Palestinians congregated near the Al Aqsa Mosque, chanting towards policemen and Jewish visitors at the site.
Police do not believe the events were planned in advance by the Palestinians.
The site is one of the most politically sensitive in the holy city. The Palestinian uprising known as the Intifada erupted in September 2000 after Israel's opposition leader at the time, Ariel Sharon, toured the compound.
Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky urged the far-right Temple Mount Faithful group not to go ahead with plans to try to enter the compound.
Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, while Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its eternal and indivisible capital.
In recent weeks, Islamic figures have warned of attempts by Jews to enter, in some instances even harm, the site. The warnings have become more amplified in the days leading up to Jerusalem Day, when Jewish far-rightists have asked to visit the site.
The clashes on the Temple Mount came as a suprise to police, who forecasted calm at the site Monday. Police officials emphasize, however, that no rocks reached the Western Wall plaza.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/584941.html