Post by Tom Green on Feb 9, 2007 22:31:17 GMT -5
Muslim protesters leave al-Aksa Mosque after standoff
By ETGAR LEVKOVITS, JPOST.COM STAFF AND AP
Talkbacks for this article: 74
Some 300 Muslim worshippers who had barricaded themselves inside al-Aksa Mosque amid violent scenes on and around Jerusalem's Temple Mount began to leave the holy site on Friday afternoon.
Fifteen policemen were wounded in fierce clashes with Muslim worshippers who attacked police with Molotov thingytails, rocks and glass bottles on and around the Mount.
Hundreds were protesting against the restricted access to Friday afternoon prayers at al-Aksa Mosque imposed by Israel amid fears of unrest over the excavation work near the Temple Mount.
Some 200 policemen streamed onto the Temple Mount compound to try to quell the violence, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Police fired stun grenades and 17 arrests were made. 18 Muslim rioters were wounded in the scuffles.
The Western Wall was evacuated for the safety of Jewish worshippers.
Earlier, five Arab youths were arrested on suspicion of throwing stones at police during protests on Salah al-Din road in east Jerusalem.
Police controlled the protesters with batons.
Muslim entry to the Temple Mount was restricted to men over the age of 45 with Israeli IDs.
Some 3,000 police officers - more than double the normal amount - were deployed throughout the Old City and nearby areas of east Jerusalem.
The dig, which is taking place dozens of meters outside the holy site ahead of the construction of a new bridge to the Mughrabi Gate, has spurred Muslim calls for violence and a new intifada.
There was also an increased police presence in Nazareth ahead of a march planned by the Islamic Movement in protest of the excavations. Police were expecting the procession to pass peacefully, Israel Radio reported.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Israel Radio on Friday morning, archaeologist Meir Ben Dov, who headed previous excavation work at the Temple Mount site, said there was no need for the renovations to be carried out at the Mughrabi Gate and that the planned bridge was not required.
Ben Dov added that the excavations near the Temple Mount were illegal and that Israel had not received the required permits.
Police feared that Palestinians would attempt to carry out terror attacks in response to the salvage dig, and that riots would break out in the capital and other places.
Also on Friday morning, Arab countries appealed to the United Nations Security Council to put a stop to the excavation work.
Representatives of the countries called on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to conduct a debate on the issue next week, Israel Radio reported.
In an effort to soothe tensions, Israel was considering broadcasting real-time, 24-hour video from the site to allay Muslim concerns of damage to the holy site, the Antiquities Authority said Thursday.
The proposal, which was the brainchild of lawmaker Israel Hasson, was quickly rejected by Islamic officials as "ridiculous."
Meanwhile, about one hundred Israeli Arabs demonstrated at the site Thursday, answering a call by the Islamic Movement in Israel which has been leading the protest against the dig.
The movement's radical leader has been ordered by a Jerusalem court to stay out of the Old City of Jerusalem for the next 10 days after scuffling with police at the site.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) issued a statement Thursday critical of the renovation and calling on Israel "to suspend any action that could endanger the spirit of mutual respect until such time as the will to dialogue prevails once again."
The eight-month construction project is meant to replace a decades-old stone ramp that partially collapsed in a snowstorm three years ago.
The Temple Mount, which is Judaism's holiest and Islam's third holiest site, has been the scene of violence in the past, which later spilled out across the country.
Baseless Palestinian allegations that Israel's opening of an additional exit to the Western Wall tunnels in 1996 were damaging al-Aksa Mosque sparked a wave of Palestinian violence that killed 80 people, while Ariel Sharon's 2000 visit to the Temple Mount as opposition leader was followed by the latest round of Palestinian violence that has continued for over six years.
By ETGAR LEVKOVITS, JPOST.COM STAFF AND AP
Talkbacks for this article: 74
Some 300 Muslim worshippers who had barricaded themselves inside al-Aksa Mosque amid violent scenes on and around Jerusalem's Temple Mount began to leave the holy site on Friday afternoon.
Fifteen policemen were wounded in fierce clashes with Muslim worshippers who attacked police with Molotov thingytails, rocks and glass bottles on and around the Mount.
Hundreds were protesting against the restricted access to Friday afternoon prayers at al-Aksa Mosque imposed by Israel amid fears of unrest over the excavation work near the Temple Mount.
Some 200 policemen streamed onto the Temple Mount compound to try to quell the violence, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Police fired stun grenades and 17 arrests were made. 18 Muslim rioters were wounded in the scuffles.
The Western Wall was evacuated for the safety of Jewish worshippers.
Earlier, five Arab youths were arrested on suspicion of throwing stones at police during protests on Salah al-Din road in east Jerusalem.
Police controlled the protesters with batons.
Muslim entry to the Temple Mount was restricted to men over the age of 45 with Israeli IDs.
Some 3,000 police officers - more than double the normal amount - were deployed throughout the Old City and nearby areas of east Jerusalem.
The dig, which is taking place dozens of meters outside the holy site ahead of the construction of a new bridge to the Mughrabi Gate, has spurred Muslim calls for violence and a new intifada.
There was also an increased police presence in Nazareth ahead of a march planned by the Islamic Movement in protest of the excavations. Police were expecting the procession to pass peacefully, Israel Radio reported.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Israel Radio on Friday morning, archaeologist Meir Ben Dov, who headed previous excavation work at the Temple Mount site, said there was no need for the renovations to be carried out at the Mughrabi Gate and that the planned bridge was not required.
Ben Dov added that the excavations near the Temple Mount were illegal and that Israel had not received the required permits.
Police feared that Palestinians would attempt to carry out terror attacks in response to the salvage dig, and that riots would break out in the capital and other places.
Also on Friday morning, Arab countries appealed to the United Nations Security Council to put a stop to the excavation work.
Representatives of the countries called on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to conduct a debate on the issue next week, Israel Radio reported.
In an effort to soothe tensions, Israel was considering broadcasting real-time, 24-hour video from the site to allay Muslim concerns of damage to the holy site, the Antiquities Authority said Thursday.
The proposal, which was the brainchild of lawmaker Israel Hasson, was quickly rejected by Islamic officials as "ridiculous."
Meanwhile, about one hundred Israeli Arabs demonstrated at the site Thursday, answering a call by the Islamic Movement in Israel which has been leading the protest against the dig.
The movement's radical leader has been ordered by a Jerusalem court to stay out of the Old City of Jerusalem for the next 10 days after scuffling with police at the site.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) issued a statement Thursday critical of the renovation and calling on Israel "to suspend any action that could endanger the spirit of mutual respect until such time as the will to dialogue prevails once again."
The eight-month construction project is meant to replace a decades-old stone ramp that partially collapsed in a snowstorm three years ago.
The Temple Mount, which is Judaism's holiest and Islam's third holiest site, has been the scene of violence in the past, which later spilled out across the country.
Baseless Palestinian allegations that Israel's opening of an additional exit to the Western Wall tunnels in 1996 were damaging al-Aksa Mosque sparked a wave of Palestinian violence that killed 80 people, while Ariel Sharon's 2000 visit to the Temple Mount as opposition leader was followed by the latest round of Palestinian violence that has continued for over six years.