 |
 |
 |
|
|
A Jewish worshipper is helped by friends after he was hit by a bottle thrown by a Palestinian from a rooftop in Jerusalem's Old City. (AP)
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
06/06
Haaretz |
|
|
| By Israel Insider staff and partners June 6, 2005 |
|
| |
Two Israelis were lightly injured on Monday when violent clashes broke out between Israeli police and Palestinians at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, after the Palestinians threw stones at Jewish worshippers beneath the compound.
The confrontations occured during Israel's annual "Jerusalem Day," which Israelis celebrate to mark the unification of the city during the 1967 Six-Day War, and which Palestinians mark as a day or mourning.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of being responsible for the violent clashes between police and Arab worshippers at the Temple Mount.
Despite the normally free access to Jews and Moslems alike, Abbas said the Jews should not have been allowed into the compound. "The Israeli government and the international community must stop these unjustified and dangerous violations," he said during a tour of a Palestinian high school in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
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.
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.
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.
The AP contributed to this report.
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
