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| Contested Site in Jerusalem Reopens for Muslim Worship | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| JERUSALEM — Thousands of Palestinians prayed Friday amid a heavy Israeli police presence at Jerusalem’s most sensitive sacred site, after an extremely rare daylong closing that the authorities said was to prevent further escalation of intensifying hostilities. Men under 50 were barred from the Old City site, and an Israeli police spokesman said there were no major incidents there. | |
| Though Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli forces in flash points throughout the occupied West Bank, intermittent rain and a security crackdown by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority appeared to limit the violence. Maan, an independent Palestinian news agency, reported that Israeli troops’ gunfire wounded eight people at a march near the Qalandiya checkpoint. | |
| Palestinian leaders had declared a “day of rage” because of Thursday’s closing and the killing by Israeli forces of a Palestinian man suspected in an assassination attempt the night before against a right-wing advocate of increased Jewish access to the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. Israel’s Channel 2 reported Friday night that a second suspect had been arrested, accused of helping in the attack on the activist, Yehuda Glick, a 48-year-old Israeli-American who remained hospitalized in serious condition after being shot four times. | |
| An Israeli security official would not comment on the Channel 2 report, but said the authorities were certain that the man killed Thursday morning, Mu’atez Hijazi, was the gunman because he had fired the same weapon at the police that was used against Mr. Glick. Mr. Hijazi worked at a conference center where Mr. Glick was speaking as part of a program promoting Jewish prayer on the mount. | |
| An autopsy of Mr. Hijazi’s body shows he was shot 20 times, Maan reported Friday. The Israeli police say officers had surrounded a house seeking to arrest the suspect, and responded immediately when shots were fired at them. | An autopsy of Mr. Hijazi’s body shows he was shot 20 times, Maan reported Friday. The Israeli police say officers had surrounded a house seeking to arrest the suspect, and responded immediately when shots were fired at them. |
| The contested Jerusalem site, where ancient Jewish temples once stood, is the holiest in Judaism, one of the three holiest in Islam, and also sacred to Christians, as Jesus worshiped there. Israel seized it with the rest of East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967, but immediately handed back control of everything but security at the site to the Islamic Waqf council, a trust run by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. | |
| A small band of religious Jews, including Mr. Glick, have in recent years protested Israel’s prohibition against non-Muslim prayer at the site and called for a third temple to be erected there. Palestinian, Jordanian and other Arab and Islamic leaders have warned that any change in the status quo at the site could lead to a holy war, and clashes between worshipers and security forces have become more frequent. | A small band of religious Jews, including Mr. Glick, have in recent years protested Israel’s prohibition against non-Muslim prayer at the site and called for a third temple to be erected there. Palestinian, Jordanian and other Arab and Islamic leaders have warned that any change in the status quo at the site could lead to a holy war, and clashes between worshipers and security forces have become more frequent. |
| But none occurred Friday, when smaller-than-usual crowds attended noon prayers at the two Muslim shrines on the revered plateau: men at Al Aksa Mosque and women at the golden Dome of the Rock. Some young men seemed to have sneaked in, and others cursed Israeli police officers for checking identification. But people dispersed quickly in a drizzling rain. | |
| “There is no state in the world which prevents prayer at the mosque, except Israel,” complained Mohammed Obeidat, a 50-year-old construction worker, who was inside. “They want to tell us, ‘We are the boss here.’ ” | “There is no state in the world which prevents prayer at the mosque, except Israel,” complained Mohammed Obeidat, a 50-year-old construction worker, who was inside. “They want to tell us, ‘We are the boss here.’ ” |
| Arafat Abbas, 35, one of about 200 people who prayed at the Lion’s Gate to the Old City after being stopped at one of several police checkpoints around the Aksa compound, warned: “People will not stay silent.” | Arafat Abbas, 35, one of about 200 people who prayed at the Lion’s Gate to the Old City after being stopped at one of several police checkpoints around the Aksa compound, warned: “People will not stay silent.” |
| Israel allows Jews and other non-Muslims to visit the site at certain hours — not on Fridays — but they are prohibited from openly praying there. The authorities occasionally bar Muslims from the site during Jewish holidays, or close it to non-Muslim visitors, citing security concerns. | Israel allows Jews and other non-Muslims to visit the site at certain hours — not on Fridays — but they are prohibited from openly praying there. The authorities occasionally bar Muslims from the site during Jewish holidays, or close it to non-Muslim visitors, citing security concerns. |
| Yitzhak Aharonovitch, Israel’s minister of internal security, toured the Old City on Friday and said on Israel Radio afterward: “I will not allow the Temple Mount to be damaged, and I will not change the status quo.” |