Israel temporarily shutdown the Al-Aqsa mosque following Wednesday's shooting of Yehuda Glick, which police called an attempted assassination.
The rabbi survived the attack, and the hospital where he was being treated said he was in a serious but stable condition.
Glick is a member of the Temple Mount Faithful, a group which calls for "liberating the Temple Mount from Arab [Islamic] occupation".
The group advocates rebuilding a Jewish temple at the religiously-important site, including the area containing the mosque.
The mosque will be open for Friday prayers but police will only allow access to Muslim men over the age of 50, with no restrictions for women.
The earlier closure prompted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to declare the move as tantamount to a "declaration of war".
"This dangerous Israeli escalation is a declaration of war on the Palestinian people and its sacred places and on the Arab and Islamic nation," his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina quoted him as saying.
Israeli police on Thursday shot dead Mutaz Hijazi, a Palestinian whom the police claimed was responsible for firing at the US-born rabbi, who is known for his lobbying to secure Jewish prayer rights at the al-Aqsa mosque compound.
Sources told Al Jazeera that Hijazi, 32, was killed in the al-Thori neighbourhood of East Jerusalem during an attempted arrest.
'Opened fire on police'
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Hijazi was "armed… and opened fire on the police"........................http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/10/tension-jerusalem-after-shooting-rabbi-palestine-aqsa-i-2014103055714931193.html
30/10/14
--
-
Related:
- Jerusalem holy site closure 'declaration of war' - Abbas ...
Palestinian PM reiterates firm stance on East Jerusalem
Israel beefs up security forces in restive East Jerusalem
Related:
Israeli foreign minister says Sweden’s recognition of State of Palestine regrettable
- Israel recalls Sweden ambassador in protest of Palestine recognition ...
------------------------------------
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
Israel reopens Al-Aqsa mosque compound ...
ReplyDeleteIsrael announced reopening doors to Al-Aqsa mosque's compound on Thursday, after it had closed it following the shooting of a Jewish hardliner late Wednesday.
Israeli police shot and killed Muataz Hijazi, the Palestinian man suspected of shooting and trying to kill the Jewish activist, but the incident intensified clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli riot police.
Israel had said earlier that the closure of the site was temporary and was aimed at calming tempers after the shooting.
Shortly before the announcement, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki urged Israel to reopen the gates to all worshippers, and condemned the shooting of rabbi Yehuda Glick, an Israeli-American national.
The Cairo-based top Islamic institution, al-Azhar, called the closure of the mosque a “barbaric act” that fuels religious conflicts.
In a statement quoted by the Egyptian state news agency MENA, the Sunni institution called on Muslims and the international community to “immediately step in to stop this barbaric action that exacerbates religious conflict.”
Neighboring Jordan also denounced “closing the gates of al-Aqsa mosque and preventing the faithful from entering,” state news agency Petra reported.
The country’s Islamic Affairs ministry, Hayel Daoud, urged the international community help put pressure on Israel “to raise the terrorist blockade" it had imposed on the compound.
“This is a dangerous escalation by the authorities of the occupation and state terrorism that we can neither accept nor keep silent about,” Daoud said.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called the unprecedented closure tantamount to a “declaration of war.”
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/10/30/Israel-reopens-Al-Aqsa-mosque-compound.html
30/10/14
U.S. State Department: Situation in Jerusalem ....
ReplyDeletePress Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
October 30, 2014
-------
I strongly condemn yesterday’s shooting of a U.S. citizen outside the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. My thoughts and prayers are with the family. The State Department is in touch with authorities as we seek more information.
I am extremely concerned by escalating tensions across Jerusalem and particularly surrounding the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount. It is absolutely critical that all sides exercise restraint, refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric, and preserve the historic status quo on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount – in word and in practice. The continued commitment by Israelis, Palestinians, and Jordanians to preserve the historic status quo at this holy site is critical; any decisions or actions to change it would be both provocative and dangerous. The Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount must be re-opened to Muslim worshipers and I support the long-standing practices regarding non-Muslim visitors to the site, consistent with respect for the status quo arrangements governing religious observance there.
I am in close touch with senior Israeli, Jordanian, and Palestinian leaders to try to deescalate the situation. I urge the leaders of all three parties to exercise decisive leadership and work cooperatively together to lower tensions and discourage violence, alleviate restrictions on Muslim worshipers, and reinvigorate long-standing coordination mechanisms and relationships that have served over the decades to preserve the historic status quo as it pertains to religious observance and access to the site.
http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/10/233557.htm
30/10/14
Temple Mount closed to visitors 2nd time in week after Palestinians, police clash ...
ReplyDeleteIsraeli police have again closed access to the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem to Palestinian worshipers as clashes continue in the heart of the city. It comes a day after an Israeli minister said the mosque would be replaced with a Jewish temple.
The holy site has been a focus of tension since last week, when Israel closed it to Muslim worshipers.
Al-Aqsa, also known as the Temple Mount, is Islam’s third most-venerated site.
Israeli police closed it for the first time since 1963 in retaliation for the killing of a prominent right-wing Jewish activist, provoking outcry from the Arab population.
Access was renewed a day later, but males under 50 were still banned from entry................http://rt.com/news/202347-temple-mount-jerusalem-clashes/
5/11/14