Israel 'playing with fire and risking major crisis with Islamic world': Al-Aqsa Mosque an honor for 1.7 billion Muslims, says Erdogan
25 July 2017The Independent
Israel sends extra troops to occupied West Bank as violence continues over
installation of metal detectors at Noble Sanctuary/Temple Mount
Israel is “playing with fire and risking a major crisis with the Arab and
Islamic world,” the Arab League has warned.
The warning came after Israel sent extra troops into the occupied West Bank as
violence erupted over Israel’s installation of metal detectors at entry points
to the shrine, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the
Temple Mount.
A spate of violence has seen a Palestinian attacker stab three Israelis to
death on Friday, with three Palestinians killed hours before.
“Jerusalem is a red line that Muslims and Arabs cannot allow to be crossed ...
and what is happening today is an attempt to impose a new reality on the Holy
city,” Arab League secretary-general Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement.
“The Israeli government is playing with fire and risking a major crisis with
the Arab and Islamic world.”
Arab League foreign ministers will hold emergency talks in Cairo on Wednesday,
the group said in a statement.
On Friday, several thousand Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces
in the West Bank and in Jerusalem after noon prayers. Three Palestinians were
killed and several dozen wounded after protesters burned tyres and threw
stones and firecrackers. Israeli troops responded with live rounds, rubber
bullets and tear gas.
Later on Friday night, a 20-year-old Palestinian identified as Omar al-Abed
jumped over the fence of the Halamish settlement near Ramallah and entered a
home, surprising a family that was celebrating a new grandchild during their
traditional Sabbath dinner and stabbing three Israelis to death.
A neighbour, an off-duty soldier, heard the screams, rushed to the home and
opened fire, wounding the attacker. TV footage showed the floor tiles drenched
in blood, and officials called it a “massacre”.
On Sunday, Israel installed new security cameras at the entrance to the
sensitive holy site, as officials began indicating it was considering
“alternatives” to the metal detectors that set off a weekend of violence and
raised tensions.
Israel set up the new security measures last week after Arab gunmen opened
fire from the shrine, killing two Israeli policemen.
It said they were a necessary measure to prevent more attacks and were
deployed routinely at holy sites around the world. But Muslims alleged Israel
was trying to expand its control at the Muslim-administered site and have
launched mass prayer protests.
Major General Yoav Mordechai, who heads the Israeli defence body for
Palestinian civilian affairs, said Israel was open to alternatives to lower
the tensions.
“The only thing we want is to ensure no one can enter with weapons again and
carry out another attack,” he said. “We’re willing to examine alternatives to
the metal detectors as long as the solution of alternative ensures the
prevention of the next attack.”
However, the top Muslim cleric of Jerusalem, Mohammed Hussein, told the Voice
of Palestine radio station he demanded a complete return to procedures that
were in place before the initial attack at the shrine.
In a statement, the Islamic institutions in Jerusalem said they “affirm the
categorical rejection of the electronic gates and all the measures of
occupation”.
Disputes over the shrine, revered by Muslims and Jews, have set off major
rounds of Israeli-Palestinian confrontations in the past.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced he would “freeze” ties with
Israel “on all levels” until the new security measures were removed. Halting
security coordination with Israel would have far-reaching repercussions and
could sharply raise tensions.
But Israeli defence minister Avigdor Lieberman said the security ties are more
beneficial to the Palestinians anyway, and while Israel can live without them
the Palestinians would suffer.
The United Nations Security Council plans to meet on Monday to discuss the
bloodiest spate of Israeli-Palestinian violence for years. Sweden, Egypt and
France requested the meeting to urgently discuss de-escalation in Jerusalem.
The Aqsa Mosque is an honor for 1.7 billion Muslims, says Erdogan after 80
Jewish settlers desecrate Aqsa Mosque
Turkish president Recep Erdogan has said that the Aqsa Mosque is an honor for
1.7 billion Muslims and not only the Palestinians, affirming that the Islamic
world would not remain silent on the restrictions imposed by Israel on the
Aqsa Mosque.
Erdogan made his remarks during a news conference held on Sunday at Istanbul’s
Ataturk airport ahead of his departure for Saudi Arabia, the first stop on his
itinerary that will also include Kuwait and Qatar.
Erdogan expressed his country’s strong condemnation of Israel’s restrictions
at the Aqsa Mosque and pledged to continue making efforts to establish peace
in the region and support the Palestinian people’s rights and their struggle
for freedom.
“In my capacity as the current chairman of the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation, I call on Israel once again to act in accordance with the law,
the human values and the proper practices,” he said.
80 Jewish settlers desecrate Aqsa Mosque
Jewish settlers entered the Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem via Magharebah
Gate on Sunday under tight Israeli police protection.
Local sources said that around 80 Jewish settlers defiled the holy Islamic
site in the early morning and organized provocative tours in its courtyards.
The Jewish settlers usually listen to briefings, during those tours, on the
alleged Jewish temple and its history and attempt to perform Talmudic rituals
at the eastern area of the holy Islamic compound.
Tension is still running high in the holy city and in the vicinity of the Aqsa
Mosque since the Israeli occupation authorities installed metal detectors at
its entrances a week ago, a measure that was refused by the Muslim worshipers.
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