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Fighting at Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem Stretches Into Third Day Clashes Damage Al Aqsa Mosque at Jerusalem, and Jordan Warns Israel
(about 11 hours later)
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Clashes between Palestinian youths and the police at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem continued on Tuesday for a third day, after King Abdullah II of Jordan issued a rare warning to Israel that the fighting could weaken relations between the two countries. RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian youths and the Israeli police clashed again Tuesday at Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and King Abdullah II of Jordan issued a rare warning to Israel that the fighting could weaken relations between the two countries.
King Abdullah, Israel’s steadiest ally in the region, said he was “concerned and angered” by clashes at the eighth-century mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam, over the Jewish holidays. Concerns are growing that the clashes over Jewish visits to the contested holy site, which began on the eve of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, could set off wider violence.
“If this continues to happen, actually as of today, any more provocations in Jerusalem will affect the relationship between Jordan and Israel,” King Abdullah said on Monday, according to a transcript of remarks issued to reporters before a meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain. “Jordan will have no choice but to take action, unfortunately.” In a call on Tuesday morning to King Abdullah, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and the king “expressed concern” about the violence, and Mr. Biden urged “all parties to exercise restraint” and “refrain from provocative actions,” the White House said in a statement.
Jordan recalled its ambassador, Walid Obeidat, last fall after Israel closed for a day the compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, during a similar period of tensions. Mr. Obeidat did not return until February. In Tuesday’s fighting, Palestinian youths, some masked, took up positions in Al Aqsa Mosque, where they had built barricades from wood and iron rods, and from the closets where worshipers leave their shoes before entering the holy site, said Luba Samri, an Israeli police spokeswoman.
The clashes continued on Tuesday as Palestinian youths, some masked, took up positions in the Al Aqsa Mosque, where they had built barricades out of wood and iron rods, and from the closets where worshipers leave their shoes before entering the holy site, said Luba Samri, an Israeli police spokeswoman. Omar Kiswani, the director of Al Aqsa Mosque compound, said centuries-old woodwork, windows and doors had been damaged in the violence. “We are making calls for intervention,” Mr. Kiswani said. “We hope these problems won’t continue. We want quiet, to preserve the lives of the worshipers.”
That account was confirmed by an Islamic official at the mosque, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he did not want to be identified by the Israeli authorities. The youths pelted police officers, who used sound grenades in an effort to quell the demonstrators. A small fire erupted on some of the wooden panels being used as barricades.
Omar Kiswani, director of the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, said centuries-old woodwork, windows and doors had been damaged in the clashes. Ms. Samri said the blaze was ignited by Palestinians who threw firecrackers. But a mosque official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared arrest, said Israeli forces were to blame because they fired stun grenades that burned holes in the mosque’s carpet and probably ignited a wooden panel.
“We are making calls for intervention,” Mr. Kiswani said. “We hope these problems won’t continue. We want quiet, to preserve the lives of the worshipers,” he said. After the clashes, Jewish visitors and foreign tourists were allowed into the holy site, Ms. Samri said. The clashes began Sunday when the police sought to secure the area, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.
The youths pelted police officers, who appeared to use sound grenades to quell the demonstrators. A small fire erupted in some of the wooden panels being used as barricades. Late Tuesday, King Abdullah, Israel’s steadiest ally in the region, said he was “concerned and angered” by clashes at the eighth-century mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam, over the Jewish holidays. “If this continues to happen, actually as of today, any more provocations in Jerusalem will affect the relationship between Jordan and Israel,” King Abdullah said, according to a transcript issued to reporters before a meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain. “Jordan will have no choice but to take action, unfortunately.”
Ms. Samri, the police spokeswoman, said the blaze had been caused by Palestinians throwing firecrackers; the mosque official said Israeli forces were to blame, adding that the fire had spread after sound grenades had burned holes into the mosque’s carpet Jordan recalled its ambassador, Walid Obeidat, last fall after Israel closed the compound for a day during a similar period of tensions. Mr. Obeidat did not return until February.
After the clashes, Jewish visitors and foreign tourists were allowed into the sweeping esplanades of the holy site, Ms. Samri said. Fighting also took place in July, when Jews held an annual day of fasting to commemorate the destruction of two ancient temples believed to have once stood at the holy site.
She said that the clashes began on Sunday when security forces sought to secure the area for foreign visitors and Jews at the contested holy site. The clashes have been prompted partly by Palestinian fears that Jews were visiting the compound as part of an Israeli plan to assert sovereignty over the site or to divide it. Non-Muslim prayer is banned at the site, and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said he has no intention of changing that, most recently on Tuesday evening.
Similar clashes took place in July, when Jews held an annual day of fasting to commemorate the destruction of two ancient temples believed to have once stood at the holy site. But Palestinians have grown more fearful of Israeli intentions in recent weeks, after Israel outlawed an organization of Muslim women who shout at Jewish visitors at the holy site. The government accused the organization, along with an affiliated group of men, of inciting violence. Palestinians say they are defending the sanctity of the site.
The clashes have been prompted partly by Palestinian fears that Jews were visiting the compound as part of an Israeli plan to assert sovereignty over the site or to divide it. Non-Muslim prayer is banned at the site, and Mr. Netanyahu has repeatedly said that he has no intention of changing that. Nickolay Mladenov, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said official mosque guards had not been allowed into the compound during the clashes — the first time, he said, that this had occurred.
Palestinians have grown more fearful of Israeli intentions in recent weeks, after Israel outlawed an organization of Muslim women who shout at Jewish visitors at the holy site. The government accused the organization, along with a less-vocal affiliated group of men, of inciting violence. Palestinians say they are defending the sanctity of their holy site. “Such serious provocations have the potential to ignite violence well beyond the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem,” Mr. Mladenov said in a statement issued after the clashes ended.
Late Tuesday evening, Mr. Netanyahu said his government would examine “changing open-fire orders” and consider “setting minimum sentences for these offenses and imposing heavy fines on minors — and their parents — who commit these offenses.” He did not offer further details. The remarks reflected a statement made earlier this month.
Mr. Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would maintain what is known as the “status quo” on the contested Jerusalem holy site. He added that “rioters would not be allowed to prevent Jews from visiting the Temple Mount.”