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By MATTI FRIEDMAN
The Associated Press
Sunday, October 25, 2009 3:02 PM JERUSALEM -- Israeli police firing stun grenades faced off Sunday
against masked Palestinian protesters hurling stones and plastic chairs
outside the Holy Land's most volatile shrine, where past violence has
escalated into prolonged conflict.
A wall of Israeli riot police behind plexiglass shields marched toward
young men covering their faces with T-shirts and scarves, sending many
of them running for cover into the Al-Aqsa mosque, one of the Islamic
structures in the compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to
Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. They remained holed up in the mosque with police outside for several
hours until dispersing before nightfall. Eighteen protesters were
arrested, and no serious injuries were reported. But even mild troubles
at the disputed compound in Jerusalem's Old City can quickly ignite
widespread unrest, and police remained on high alert. "Jerusalem is a red line that Israel should not cross," said Palestinian
Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh, condemning the Israeli police action. A visit to the site in 2000 by Ariel Sharon, then an Israeli opposition
leader and later prime minister, helped ignite deadly clashes that
escalated into violence that engulfed Israel and the Palestinian
territories for several years. Sunday's disturbances were rooted in calls from Muslim leaders for their
followers to protect the Islamic sites from what they said were Israeli
plots to damage them or let Jews pray in the compound. There was no
evidence to support either claim. Palestinians are also angry about stalled peace talks and ongoing
Israeli construction in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, areas they
want for a future state. Stoking tensions, a group of hardline settlers and rabbis met in
Jerusalem on Sunday evening calling on Jews to pray at the site. Most
rabbis, however, say the place is so holy that Jews should not even set
foot there. Police allow only Muslims to worship in the compound and say
that practice will be enforced. Israel has controlled the site since 1967, but has left day-to-day
administration in the hands of a Muslim clerical body, the Waqf.
Israelis and tourists are allowed to visit at certain times. Israel's national police chief, David Cohen, accused a small group of
Muslim extremists of trying to foment violence. "The police will act with a strong hand against anyone who disrupts
order on the Temple Mount and against those incite to riot," Cohen said. The Jerusalem holy site is a hot-button issue for Muslims worldwide, and
the Palestinian condemnation was quickly taken up abroad. The head of
the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference warned that any
provocative act by Israel "would bear grave consequences," while the
Arab League called on the U.N. to "stop the Israeli aggressions." Egypt
urged Israel to refrain from actions with "negative repercussions" for
the region. The Islamic militant Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, called
on Palestinians to rise up against Israel and urged Arab countries that
have ties to Israel to sever them. Nine police officers were lightly wounded and 18 protesters were
detained, police said. The Palestinian president's adviser on Jerusalem
affairs and a leader from Israel's Islamic Movement were arrested for
alleged incitement, police said. A total of 25 protesters were injured by batons or gas inhalation, said
Ameen Abu Ghazaleh, head of the Palestinian Red Crescent's ambulance
service. An Australian journalist covering the clash was struck in the
face by a rock and lightly wounded, Israeli police said. The disputing claims to the man-made platform in Jerusalem's Old City
lie at the heart of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. It is revered as
the holiest site in Judaism, home to two biblical Temples, and Jews pray
at the foot of the compound at the Western Wall. In the Islamic tradition, it is the place where the Prophet Muhammad
ascended to heaven in a nighttime journey recounted in the Quran, and is
considered the third-holiest site after the Saudi cities of Mecca and
Medina. Israel has carried out numerous archaeological digs in nearby areas, but
has denied Palestinian allegations that the work could endanger the
compound. The Palestinians seek to make east Jerusalem - including the holy
compound - the capital of a future independent state. Israel's
government says it will not share control of the holy city.
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