Israelis Block Palestinians From Holy Site
Friday, March 12, 2010 at 11:46AM Updated | 10:24 a.m. On Friday, Israeli police prevented young Palestinian men from praying at a holy site in Jerusalem, and Israel’s military imposed a temporary ban on travel by Palestinians from the West Bank into Israel. The security crackdown comes after recent clashes following Friday prayers in Jerusalem.
The Associated Press reported that police would only allow Palestinian women and Palestinian men over 50 years of age to pray on Friday at the Jerusalem holy site known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.
The temporary closings did not ensure calm though. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported, “Palestinian youths on Friday hurled stones at Israeli security forces near the Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem and tried to breach a barrier to gain entry to the area.”
Haaretz explained:
The move was made in anticipation of renewed Jerusalem riots in response to a recent government decision to expand settlements in East Jerusalem. The West Bank will be sealed off for 48 hours, and the closure will be lifted on Saturday at midnight.
The attempts by Israel’s security forces to tamp down violence come as tensions are rising in part because of Israel’s decision to include two West Bank shrines on a list of national heritage sites.
Reader Comments