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Violence Erupts at Jerusalem Holy Site
JERUSALEM – Israeli police stormed Islam’s third holiest shrine today after hundreds of angry Islamic worshippers threw stones and bottles in an eruption of outrage over contentious Israeli renovation work at a disputed Old City holy site.
Protesters hurled rocks at police during the clashes
on the Temple Mount
About 200 police streamed on to the hilltop compound known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, to try to quell the violence, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. Witnesses said police hurled stun grenades.
Police said several protesters and several officers were injured in the faceoff, but gave no further details.
As many as 300 protesters barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa mosque at the compound. Police were stationed near the mosque, but did not enter it.
Due to time and diary limit I couldn’t publish this item yesterday. Today on CNN Breaking News: fights have erupted on the temple mount of the Al Aqsa Mosque.
Iran urges islamic world 'to make the zionist regime regret it'
JERUSALEM (DailyStar-Lebanon) – “The volcano in Jerusalem is threatening to erupt once again, and perhaps to ignite a third intifada,” warned an article entitled “Playing with Fire.”
“All this commotion could have been avoided. The repairs … could have been carried out in coordination with the Muslim endowments trust,” it said.
Waqf chairman Adnan Husseini said he and his colleagues first learned about the construction plans through media reports and warned the police and the city council that the plan would spark fierce opposition. “We warned them not to do it, but there was no coordination,” he said. “They didn’t tell us.”
The head of Israel’s Islamic Movement, Sheikh Raed Salah, was arrested yesterday after a dispute with officers.
Protests have continued against Israel’s excavation at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, which has provoked international Muslim anger.
Around 2,000 policemen were deployed across the Old City and around what is the most contested holy site in the Middle East on Wednesday.
Seven members of the Islamic Movement in Israel who were protesting at the site were arrested by police.
Raeed Salah, the movement’s leader, was banned from being within 150m of the Old City walls for 10 days, after appearing in court.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
