Israel limits Muslim access to Jerusalem holy site amid protest fears

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"111265417"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"2">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div><p>Israel banned Muslim men under the age of 50 from a contested Jerusalem shrine on Friday and deployed about 3&comma;000 police nearby&comma; ahead of expected Muslim protests over the installation of metal detectors at the holy site&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The age restrictions and police deployment came hours after Israel&&num;8217&semi;s security Cabinet decided not to overrule an earlier police decision to install metal detectors at the gates to the walled compound&period; The volatile Jerusalem shrine&comma; revered by Muslims and Jews&comma; sits at the centre of rival Israeli and Palestinian national narratives and has triggered major confrontations in the past&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Police installed the metal detectors earlier this week&comma; after Palestinian gunmen launched an attack from the shrine and killed two Israeli policemen&period; Muslim leaders have alleged that the detectors are part of a purported Israeli attempt to expand control over the site&period; Israel has denied such allegations&comma; arguing that they are routine security devices&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Muslim leaders have called on worshippers to pray in the streets near the shrine rather than walk through metal detectors&period; Over the course of the week&comma; growing numbers of Palestinian worshippers have participated in such street prayers&comma; particularly in the evenings&period; Following such prayers&comma; smaller numbers of Palestinian protesters have clashed with police&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>On Thursday evening&comma; police fired rubber bullets&comma; tear gas and stun grenades to disperse protesters who&comma; according to police&comma; threw rocks and bottles&period; Paramedics from the Red Crescent said 37 people were injured by rubber bullets&comma; three of them seriously&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Friday is the highlight of the Muslim religious week&comma; and tens of thousands of worshippers typically perform prayers at the shrine&comma; known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Muslim leaders have urged the faithful to forgo prayers in smaller Jerusalem neighbourhood mosques on Friday and converge on the shrine&comma; in an attempt to increase the crowd size&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Police announced on Friday that Muslim men under the age of 50 would be banned from the shrine and that it was sending reinforcements to Jerusalem&period; &&num;8220&semi;Police and border police units mobilised in all areas and neighbourhoods&comma;&&num;8221&semi; said spokesman Micky Rosenfeld&comma; adding that about 3&comma;000 members of the security forces had been deployed&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>A Palestinian advocacy group said Israeli police detained 10 prominent Palestinian activists in Jerusalem&comma; including the leader of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas&&num;8217&semi;s Fatah movement in the city&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Israeli police made no immediate comment&period; Meanwhile&comma; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&&num;8217&semi;s office said the security Cabinet had decided to defer to police on security arrangements at the shrine&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;The Cabinet authorised the police to make all decisions in order to ensure free access to holy sites while ensuring security and public order&comma;&&num;8221&semi; the statement said&period; It added that Israel is committed to preserving &&num;8220&semi;the status quo at the Temple Mount and free access to holy sites&&num;8221&semi;&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The decision to defer to police came amid reports of disagreement among Israel&&num;8217&semi;s security services about the need for the metal detectors&period; The military and the Shin Bet security services&comma; which deal directly with Palestinians and potential unrest&comma; were reportedly opposed to the devices&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Israel had come under growing pressure this week&comma; including from security ally Jordan&comma; to remove the metal detectors&period; Jordan is the custodian of the Muslim-administered walled compound&comma; which houses the Al Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques&period; The rule of Jordan&&num;8217&semi;s Hashemite dynasty&comma; said to trace its ancestry back to the Prophet Muhammad&comma; rests to a large degree on its role as guardian of the site&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div style&equals;"padding-bottom&colon;15px&semi;" class&equals;"wordads-tag" data-slot-type&equals;"belowpost">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div id&equals;"atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68ecc84a58842">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<script type&equals;"text&sol;javascript">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;getAdSnippetCallback &equals; function &lpar;&rpar; &lbrace;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;if &lpar; false &equals;&equals;&equals; &lpar; window&period;isWatlV1 &quest;&quest; false &rpar; &rpar; &lbrace;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&sol;&sol; Use Aditude scripts&period;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;tudeMappings &equals; window&period;tudeMappings &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&semi;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;tudeMappings&period;push&lpar; &lbrace;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;divId&colon; 'atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68ecc84a58842'&comma;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;format&colon; 'belowpost'&comma;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&rcub; &rpar;&semi;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&rcub;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&rcub;&NewLine;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;if &lpar; document&period;readyState &equals;&equals;&equals; 'loading' &rpar; &lbrace;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;document&period;addEventListener&lpar; 'DOMContentLoaded'&comma; window&period;getAdSnippetCallback &rpar;&semi;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&rcub; else &lbrace;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;getAdSnippetCallback&lpar;&rpar;&semi;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&rcub;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;script>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>


Discover more from London Glossy Post

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

- Advertisement -
Exit mobile version