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A view of the Temple Mount, on which Muslims have built mosques and shrines. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners August 13, 2005 |
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| A young Jew looks out toward the Temple Mount. (AP) |
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Israeli police have limited the age of Muslim worshippers at a Jerusalem mosque compound and positioned thousands of officers throughout the Old City for fear that clashes between Jews and Muslims will erupt later Saturday, a police spokesman said.
As Israel Insider has reported, blocking Muslim access to the Old City and Temple Mount is part of a strategy by Gaza pullout opponents to draw away police forces from expulsion activities.
Thousands of observant Jews -- many of whom oppose Israel's impending withdrawal from the Gaza Strip -- are expected to attend traditional prayer services at Jerusalem's Western Wall later Saturday, the eve of the Tisha B'Av fast day commemorating the destruction of the biblical Jewish Temples 2,000 years ago.
Tisha b'Av observances traditionally attract thousands of visitors, many of whom sit on the plaza in from of the Wall and read from the Biblical book of Lamentations, mourning the loss of Jerusalem which was destroyed and its Jewish residents expelled starting on Tisha b'Av in 70 C.E. The coincidence of the planned destruction of Jewish Gaza and its residents' expulsion is expected to give today's observance special intensity and passion.
The Western Wall is the last retaining wall of the temples, the holiest shrines in Judaism.
Overlooking the Western Wall is a mosque compound known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as the Temple Mount. Muslims built their mosques and shrines on the ruins of the Jewish holy places.
Muslim clerics, including Israeli Arab leaders, have called on their followers to go to Jerusalem to "protect the mosques." As a result, police decided to limit the age of Muslim worshippers to men over 45, said Shmulik Ben-Ruby, Jerusalem police spokesman. Women of all ages will be allowed to attend prayer services in the Al-Aqsa mosque, he added.
According to the plan presented by senior Jerusalem police officials and approved by Police Chief Moshe Karadi and Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra, troops will be deployed in the Old City, around the Temple Mount, and in east Jerusalem, in an effort to prevent disruptions to public order, ynet reported.
Police officials will set up a tactical headquarters as early as Saturday and will use a helicopter and closed-circuit cameras to keep track of the situation. Forces will also set up roadblocks and screen suspicious vehicles and people around the Old City and Temple Mount.
Many observant Jews who oppose Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements are hoping a miracle will occur on the fast day to prevent the evacuation, set to begin Aug. 15. Massive riots and incident involving the sensitive Temple Mount might do the trick, some speculate.
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