50 injured in clashes on Jews, Muslims holy site
The Red Crescent reported, on Tuesday, that some 50
Palestinians were wounded in overnight clashes with Israeli police near a
Jerusalem site holy to Jews and Muslims.
The Red Crescent said among the 50 wounded Palestinians, 15
of them were hit by rubber bullets.
The rioting was sparked by new security measures introduced
over the weekend by the Israelis after police were attacked at the site, known
to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.
Jerusalem Grand Mufti Mohammed Hussein criticised the new
measures which included metal detectors and turnstiles at the entrance to the
site as altering the status quo.
The Palestinians feared that Israel would retake control of
the site by stealth.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that he did not
want to alter the status quo, which gives Muslims religious control over the
site and permits Jews to visit but not pray there.
The site is sacred to both religions, as it houses the
al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine, Islam’s third holiest site
after Mecca and Medina, but also the ruins of the Biblical Jewish Temple.
Questions about control of the site frequently lead to
outbursts of fighting.
Two Israeli police officers were killed and another injured
after three men opened fire on security officers working at the site.
The attackers, believed to be Israeli Arabs, were also
killed, Israel then closed off the area, preventing Friday prayers at the
al-Aqsa Mosque. (NAN)
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