Palestinians Again Boycott al-Aqsa over Israeli Security Measures
Palestinian Muslims boycotted a Jerusalem holy site for the third day running Tuesday after Israeli authorities installed metal detectors and cameras at entrances to the sensitive compound following an attack that killed two policemen.
As in previous days, dozens of worshipers prayed outside the Haram al-Sharif compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, rather than enter through the metal detectors.
The attack and new security measures have increased Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
Protests and scuffles between demonstrators and Israeli police have erupted outside the site, which includes the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque.
On Tuesday, a 30-year-old Palestinian carried out a car-ramming attack in the occupied West Bank near the city of Hebron, lightly wounding two Israeli soldiers before being shot dead.
It was not clear if the attack was linked to the Jerusalem tensions.
A 17-year-old Palestinian who was injured Monday during clashes in the Silwan area of east Jerusalem was in critical condition, according to official Palestinian news agency WAFA, which said he had been shot.
Palestinian hospital Makased, where the 17-year-old was being treated, alleged in a statement Tuesday that Israeli forces had entered the hospital and were disrupting operations.
Israeli police said six arrests had been made overnight in two separate areas of Jerusalem.
Police say a number of Muslims have been entering the compound, though they did not provide a number on Tuesday. The compound has appeared largely empty.
Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah said "we refuse these dangerous measures that will lead to a ban on the freedom of worship and will obstruct the movement of the faithful".
On Friday, three Arab Israelis opened fire on police before fleeing to the compound, where security forces shot them dead.
Israel closed the site for two days following the attack, angering Muslims and Jordan, the site's custodian.
Israel said the closure was necessary to carry out security checks.
The site reopened on Sunday, but with metal detectors at entrances. Palestinians view the move as Israel asserting further control over the site.
The Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount is central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It stands in east Jerusalem, seized by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed in a move never recognized by the international community.
It is considered the third holiest site in Islam and the most sacred for Jews.
Jews are allowed to visit but not pray there to avoid provoking tensions.
18 July 2017, 18:59
02
The UN Human Rights Council needs to pass a resolution condemning the use of metal detectors at holy sites and other public places. Israel is using terrorist attacks as a pretext for adopting stricter security measures.
18 July 2017, 19:39
20
Please try and explain to me, and the other readers, how using exactly the same metal detectors which are in use at airports, shopping malls, government and other offices all over the world deserves condemnation.
I for one have no problems going through a metal detector as do tens of millions of people who do this every day all over the world.
The only people who could possibly object would be those who have something to hide, and this at the moment seems to be the local Moslem population led by the Waqf who have decided that confrontation with the Israeli authorities is much more important than praying on Haram as-Sharif, Islam third most holy site.
19 July 2017, 04:37
01
"only people who could possibly object would be those who have something to hide "
what kind of crooked mentality is this??? If you think privacy is unimportant for you because you have nothing to hide, you might as well say free speech is unimportant for you because you have nothing useful to say. The right to privacy is the right to self. You "own" you. You decide when you want to share you and when you don't. It is really just that simple.
There are also things we, as a society, have decide we don't think is generally right to share. This is why we have bathroom stalls with a door that can be closed and locked versus just using toilets on street corners.
As long as there have been windows, there have been curtains. Privacy is part of human nature.
19 July 2017, 04:39
11
And before I leave, your argument was first used by the 3rd Reich. Israelis seem to have much in common with Uncle Adolf.
19 July 2017, 16:28
01
I wasn't suggesting that the UNHRC adopt a resolution targeting Israel; rather a broad general resolution prohibiting security at all religious sites -- if the UNHRC agrees with that.
19 July 2017, 14:30
10
Hey Smarty, do you refuse to go through the metal detectors at Mecca, or through those at the airport on your way there?
