Israel police deploy as Hamas calls �day of rage�

AFP, JERUSALEM: Israeli police beefed up their numbers in Jerusalem Friday, barring young men from prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque site ahead of what Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas dubbed a “day of rage”.
They set up heavily-manned checkpoints on streets leading up to the site in Jerusalem’s walled Old City, turning back youngsters, while a police surveillance blimp flew overhead. “It’s a frontline,” Mazen Shawish, 52, told AFP. “You have to go though 20 military checkpoints to get to the mosque.”  Palestinian protesters have clashed with police at the sacred site for three days over this week’s Jewish new year despite international calls for calm.
“In light of intelligence received indicating the intention of Arab youths to disturb the peace at Friday prayers on Temple Mount it was decided to limit the age of Muslim worshippers,” said a police statement, using the Hebrew term for the hilltop sacred to both Jews and Muslims. “Men aged 40 and above and women of all ages will be permitted to enter for prayers,” it said. The measure is meant to deter Palestinian youths—who are generally at the forefront of violent protests—after Hamas called for a “day of rage” to coincide with weekly Friday prayers.
Israeli authorities fear further trouble ahead when the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha coincides on Wednesday with the solemn Jewish fast of Yom Kippur.
And Jews begin their seven-day Sukkot festival the following week, one of the holidays when more Israelis than usual are likely to visit the compound.
It is the most sacred site in Judaism, with tradition identifying it as the site of the first and second temples, destroyed by the Babylonians and the Romans. Known to Muslims as Al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), the compound houses the famous golden Dome of the Rock shrine and Al-Aqsa mosque.
Believed to be where the Prophet Mohammed made his night journey to heaven, it is the third-holiest site in Islam after the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, both in Saudi Arabia. Jews are allowed to visit but cannot pray there to avoid further raising tensions. A small but vocal Israeli minority, among them cabinet ministers, are demanding that Jewish prayer be allowed. Israel seized east Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognised internationally. It claims sovereignty over the entire city, including holy sites. To the Palestinians, who want the mainly-Arab eastern side as their capital, the compound with its landmarks is a potent symbol of so-far unrealised statehood.
They fear Israel will seek to change rules governing the site, with far-right Jewish groups pushing for more access and even efforts by fringe organisations to erect a new Jewish temple there.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin spoke by phone to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday night seeking to calm such concerns and pledging that the Jewish state “is strictly maintaining the status quo,” Netanyahu’s office said.

 

Israel police deploy as Hamas calls �day of rage�

AFP, JERUSALEM: Israeli police beefed up their numbers in Jerusalem Friday, barring young men from prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque site ahead of what Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas dubbed a day of rage. They set up heavily-manned checkpoints on streets leading up to the site in Jerusalems walled Old City, turning back youngsters, while a police surveillance blimp flew overhead. Its a frontline, Mazen Shawish, 52, told AFP. You have to go though 20 military checkpoints to get to the mosque. Palestinian protesters have clashed with police at the sacred site for three days over this weeks Jewish new year despite international calls for calm. In light of intelligence received indicating the intention of Arab youths to disturb the peace at Friday prayers on Temple Mount it was decided to limit the age of Muslim worshippers, said a police statement, using the Hebrew term for the hilltop sacred to both Jews and Muslims. Men aged 40 and above and women of all ages will be permitted to enter for prayers, it said. The measure is meant to deter Palestinian youthswho are generally at the forefront of violent protestsafter Hamas called for a day of rage to coincide with weekly Friday prayers. Israeli authorities fear further trouble ahead when the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha coincides on Wednesday with the solemn Jewish fast of Yom Kippur. And Jews begin their seven-day Sukkot festival the following week, one of the holidays when more Israelis than usual are likely to visit the compound. It is the most sacred site in Judaism, with tradition identifying it as the site of the first and second temples, destroyed by the Babylonians and the Romans. Known to Muslims as Al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), the compound houses the famous golden Dome of the Rock shrine and Al-Aqsa mosque. Believed to be where the Prophet Mohammed made his night journey to heaven, it is the third-holiest site in Islam after the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophets Mosque in Medina, both in Saudi Arabia. Jews are allowed to visit but cannot pray there to avoid further raising tensions. A small but vocal Israeli minority, among them cabinet ministers, are demanding that Jewish prayer be allowed. Israel seized east Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognised internationally. It claims sovereignty over the entire city, including holy sites. To the Palestinians, who want the mainly-Arab eastern side as their capital, the compound with its landmarks is a potent symbol of so-far unrealised statehood. They fear Israel will seek to change rules governing the site, with far-right Jewish groups pushing for more access and even efforts by fringe organisations to erect a new Jewish temple there. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin spoke by phone to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday night seeking to calm such concerns and pledging that the Jewish state is strictly maintaining the status quo, Netanyahus office said.