Yousef Alhelou: Clashes around Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem over Israeli Dig
Clashes broke out in the old city of Jerusalem on Friday as Palestinian Muslim worshippers streamed into the city for Friday prayers and to protest against Israel's ongoing excavations in the environs of the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Israeli forces stormed the Al-Haram Ash-Sharif compound after the Friday noon prayers amid intense gunfire, which resulted in the injury of 15 Palestinians and the arrest of many others. Clashes between the Israeli police forces and the Israeli border guards also resulted in the injury of at least 15 Israeli policemen.
Our Jerusalem correspondent reported that the Israeli forces prohibited Palestinian ambulances from approaching the area to transport the wounded Palestinians. He added that the Israeli forces used live ammunition and tear gas against the protesting Palestinians, after having cut the electricity current to the mosque, thereby disabling the loudspeakers.
Eyewitnesses reported that slight clashes also broke out around Damascus Gate between stone-throwing Palestinian youths and the Israeli police. Two Palestinian youths were seen being arrested by masked Israeli policemen.
Earlier, the Israeli forces imposed a strict military siege on the Palestinian neighbourhoods of Sheikh Jarrah, At-Tur, Silwan and Bab al-Amoud (Damascus Gate) in the holy city of Jerusalem as a precautionary measure against the expected violent protests over the Israeli excavations in the area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is considered by Muslims to be the third holiest site in the world after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Israeli military and police forces were deployed in large numbers, specifically in the old city and all the gates into the walled old city were closed. Palestinians under 45 years of age were banned from entering the abovementioned Palestinian neighbourhoods and those older than 45 were allowed only to enter on foot.
Palestinians from the occupied West Bank were also barred from entering the city of Jerusalem for Friday prayers, including those with permits.
The 'Al Aqsa Society' had urged all Muslim Palestinians inside Israel to travel to the mosque for the Friday prayers. The society called on them to enter the old city from the Magharbeh ('Moroccan' or 'Dung') gate, which is the gate at the centre of the controversy. The Dung Gate was closed for several years as excavations took place.
The head of the society's media department, Sheikh Khalid Muhanna, said, "This gate is for the Muslims and they have the right to use it. If we follow the Israeli orders and don't use it, the Israelis will understand this to mean we are deserting the mosque. That is why we should enter the city from that gate as it is one of the main gates of the mosque".
Yousef Alhelou:
Israeli defense minister asks Olmert to stop excavations near Al-Aqsa mosque
The Israeli minister of defense, Amir Peretz, has on Thursday sent a message to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, asking him to give orders to halt the excavation works at the Moroccan gate area, which is in very close proximity to the Al Aqsa mosque. Peretz' suggestion is said to come out of fear of a further deterioration of the security status in the area.
A recommendation by the chief of the political and security committee of the Israeli army, General Amos Gil'ad, stated several security reasons for the necessity of halting excavations. Among these recommendations was the intention to avoid any further violation of the ceasefire between the Israeli authorities and the Palestinians. "Furthermore, the continuation of these excavations raises the probability of arousing anti-Israeli sentiment and anger in the Arab and Islamic worlds".
Gil'ad also referred to the possibility that these works may have severe negative implications for the expected summit between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in addition to raising tension around the visit by American Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. He also explained that there has been "no proper coordination with Jordan over the excavations".
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister are said to be "irritated" at the leak, and have said that "it is illogical to stop working."
Yousef Alhelou
Yousef Alhelou is a freelance Palestinian journalist based in Gaza. He can be contacted on ydamadan@hotmail.com
Please continue for other reports, but first, PLEASE VISIT
The Noble Sanctuary http://www.noblesanctuary.com
Al-Aqsa Panoramic http://www.visualdhikr.com/extra/aqsa_pano.php
Friends of Al-Aqsa http://www.aqsa.org.uk
Please read:
Al-Aqsa Mosque is good for the Jews – by Bradley Burston
We Jews need the Al-Aqsa Mosque. We need it to remind us of who we are, and who we are not. We need the Dome of the Rock, magnificent, inescapable, to remind us that we are not here to be Lord and Master, any more than we are here to be servant and slave. We need Al-Aqsa to teach us that there is a God above us, supreme, and a separate people beside us. A people like us, speaking a language which is like ours, worshipping the same one God. Just as they Muslims need the Jews to remind them that there is a narrative that differs from their one their extremists promulgate, that there is a people who lives that narrative, that our ancestor is the same ancestor, our God the same god, and that this land belongs to us both. God put two peoples here. Not so that one could rule over the other. So that they could learn, after struggle and heartache, to live side by side. Extremist Arab or extremist Jew: If what you want is all of the Holy Land, the best you'll wind up with is what we all have now. Misery for all, under God. (Ed. Note: Please scroll down, below the bold print.) http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/822611.html
Please also see:
UNESCO voices 'deep concern' at Israeli construction work in Jerusalem
(photo source) http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article6539.shtml
Palestinians Step Up Aqsa Protests
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1170877881638&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
PCHR Condemns Israeli Diggings near Al-Aqsa
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article6544.shtml
Turkey Says Israeli Unilateral Acts in Jerusalem Cause Major Indignation in Islamic World http://wafa.ps/english/body.asp?id=9231
As the International Community Remains Silent, Israeli Occupation Authorities Continue the Judaization of Occupied Arab Jerusalem
http://www.pchrgaza.ps/files/PressR/English/2007/09-2007.htm
Clashes broke out in the old city of Jerusalem on Friday as Palestinian Muslim worshippers streamed into the city for Friday prayers and to protest against Israel's ongoing excavations in the environs of the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Israeli forces stormed the Al-Haram Ash-Sharif compound after the Friday noon prayers amid intense gunfire, which resulted in the injury of 15 Palestinians and the arrest of many others. Clashes between the Israeli police forces and the Israeli border guards also resulted in the injury of at least 15 Israeli policemen.
Our Jerusalem correspondent reported that the Israeli forces prohibited Palestinian ambulances from approaching the area to transport the wounded Palestinians. He added that the Israeli forces used live ammunition and tear gas against the protesting Palestinians, after having cut the electricity current to the mosque, thereby disabling the loudspeakers.
Eyewitnesses reported that slight clashes also broke out around Damascus Gate between stone-throwing Palestinian youths and the Israeli police. Two Palestinian youths were seen being arrested by masked Israeli policemen.
Earlier, the Israeli forces imposed a strict military siege on the Palestinian neighbourhoods of Sheikh Jarrah, At-Tur, Silwan and Bab al-Amoud (Damascus Gate) in the holy city of Jerusalem as a precautionary measure against the expected violent protests over the Israeli excavations in the area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is considered by Muslims to be the third holiest site in the world after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Israeli military and police forces were deployed in large numbers, specifically in the old city and all the gates into the walled old city were closed. Palestinians under 45 years of age were banned from entering the abovementioned Palestinian neighbourhoods and those older than 45 were allowed only to enter on foot.
Palestinians from the occupied West Bank were also barred from entering the city of Jerusalem for Friday prayers, including those with permits.
The 'Al Aqsa Society' had urged all Muslim Palestinians inside Israel to travel to the mosque for the Friday prayers. The society called on them to enter the old city from the Magharbeh ('Moroccan' or 'Dung') gate, which is the gate at the centre of the controversy. The Dung Gate was closed for several years as excavations took place.
The head of the society's media department, Sheikh Khalid Muhanna, said, "This gate is for the Muslims and they have the right to use it. If we follow the Israeli orders and don't use it, the Israelis will understand this to mean we are deserting the mosque. That is why we should enter the city from that gate as it is one of the main gates of the mosque".
Yousef Alhelou:
Israeli defense minister asks Olmert to stop excavations near Al-Aqsa mosque
The Israeli minister of defense, Amir Peretz, has on Thursday sent a message to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, asking him to give orders to halt the excavation works at the Moroccan gate area, which is in very close proximity to the Al Aqsa mosque. Peretz' suggestion is said to come out of fear of a further deterioration of the security status in the area.
A recommendation by the chief of the political and security committee of the Israeli army, General Amos Gil'ad, stated several security reasons for the necessity of halting excavations. Among these recommendations was the intention to avoid any further violation of the ceasefire between the Israeli authorities and the Palestinians. "Furthermore, the continuation of these excavations raises the probability of arousing anti-Israeli sentiment and anger in the Arab and Islamic worlds".
Gil'ad also referred to the possibility that these works may have severe negative implications for the expected summit between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in addition to raising tension around the visit by American Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. He also explained that there has been "no proper coordination with Jordan over the excavations".
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister are said to be "irritated" at the leak, and have said that "it is illogical to stop working."
Yousef Alhelou
Yousef Alhelou is a freelance Palestinian journalist based in Gaza. He can be contacted on ydamadan@hotmail.com
Please continue for other reports, but first, PLEASE VISIT
The Noble Sanctuary http://www.noblesanctuary.com
Al-Aqsa Panoramic http://www.visualdhikr.com/extra/aqsa_pano.php
Friends of Al-Aqsa http://www.aqsa.org.uk
Please read:
Al-Aqsa Mosque is good for the Jews – by Bradley Burston
We Jews need the Al-Aqsa Mosque. We need it to remind us of who we are, and who we are not. We need the Dome of the Rock, magnificent, inescapable, to remind us that we are not here to be Lord and Master, any more than we are here to be servant and slave. We need Al-Aqsa to teach us that there is a God above us, supreme, and a separate people beside us. A people like us, speaking a language which is like ours, worshipping the same one God. Just as they Muslims need the Jews to remind them that there is a narrative that differs from their one their extremists promulgate, that there is a people who lives that narrative, that our ancestor is the same ancestor, our God the same god, and that this land belongs to us both. God put two peoples here. Not so that one could rule over the other. So that they could learn, after struggle and heartache, to live side by side. Extremist Arab or extremist Jew: If what you want is all of the Holy Land, the best you'll wind up with is what we all have now. Misery for all, under God. (Ed. Note: Please scroll down, below the bold print.) http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/822611.html
Please also see:
UNESCO voices 'deep concern' at Israeli construction work in Jerusalem
(photo source) http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article6539.shtml
Palestinians Step Up Aqsa Protests
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1170877881638&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
PCHR Condemns Israeli Diggings near Al-Aqsa
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article6544.shtml
Turkey Says Israeli Unilateral Acts in Jerusalem Cause Major Indignation in Islamic World http://wafa.ps/english/body.asp?id=9231
As the International Community Remains Silent, Israeli Occupation Authorities Continue the Judaization of Occupied Arab Jerusalem
http://www.pchrgaza.ps/files/PressR/English/2007/09-2007.htm