Clashes broke out inside the al-Aqsa compound CREDIT: PHOTO BY MOSTAFA ALKHAROUF/ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES
Clashes broke out inside Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque compound on Friday as thousands of Palestinians returned to the holy site for the first time in two weeks after a standoff with Israeli police.
Israel installed metal detectors, cameras and railings outside the mosque after two of its police officers were shot dead on July 14 but the move sparked a massive backlash of civil protest and some violence from Palestinians.
Thousands of Palestinians have prayed each day outside the mosque, rather than going inside through the new security set up.
On Thursday morning the Israeli government removed the last of the railings and the waqf, the Islamic authority that administers the mosque, gave the all clear for worshippers to return to the holy site.
Israeli forces fired stun grenades while young Palestinians hurled rocks CREDIT: PHOTO BY MOSTAFA ALKHAROUF/ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES
Thousands of people poured through the gates of the mosque, chanting in victory, but clashes soon broke out between Israeli riot police and parts of the crowd.
Palestinian officials says 46 Palestinians were injured in the fighting. Israeli police said youths had thrown stones at Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall.
Palestinian factions had called for a “Day of Rage” against Israeli forces on Friday and Israeli officials said they expected large demonstrations would go ahead even though the metal detectors and other barriers had been removed from al-Aqsa.
Three Palestinians were killed last Friday in clashes with Israeli troops and three Israelis were later stabbed to death in their home in a West Bank settlement by a young Palestinian.
Palestinian political and religious groups that are often at odds with each other have been galvanised and united by the protests over al-Aqsa and may be reluctant to lose the momentum of the last two weeks.
Mahmoud Abbas, the unpopular Palestinian president, has appeared emboldened by the protests and reportedly gave permission for the armed wing of his Fatah party to help organise confrontations with Israeli forces on Friday.
An Israeli security official told The Telegraph that the demonstrations tomorrow [FRI] might be even larger than last week because of the involvement of Fatah's Tanzim militia.
"We understand that tensions still exist [despite metal detectors gone] and we're still working on assumption things will erupt tomorrow," the official said.
Palestinian youths are expected to confront Israeli forces at checkpoints throughout the occupied West Bank and may try to block roads that lead to Israeli settlements.
Palestinian and Israeli security agencies usually work closely together to prevent large demonstrations from spinning out of control but because of the al-Aqsa situation, Mr Abbas has ordered his forces not to cooperate with Israeli troops.
The Israeli security official said they were also bracing for more "lone wolf" attacks by young Palestinians who were motivated by the mosque confrontation to try to carry out knife attacks against either Israeli soldiers or civilians.
Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, hailed the removal of the barriers as a "historic victory”.
Moderates have criticised him putting up the metal detectors despite the risk of a Palestinian backlash while the Right has accused him of giving in to Palestinian pressure to take them down.
Mr Netanyahu said on Facebook on Wednesday that he wanted to see al-Jazeera’s bureau in Jerusalem shut down because of the networks “incitement” against Israel.
Israeli police officers dismantle metal detectors outside the al-Aqsa mosque CREDIT: MAHMOUD ILLEAN/AP
"The al-Jazeera channel continues to incite violence around the Temple Mount," Mr Netanyahu said.
“I have appealed to law enforcement agencies several times to close the al-Jazeera office in Jerusalem. If this is not possible because of legal interpretation, I am going to seek to have the necessary legislation adopted to expel al-Jazeera from Israel.”
He also called for the death penalty for the young Palestinian who murdered three Israelis in a settlement last week. "The death penalty for terrorists - it's time to implement it in severe cases," he said.
Israel has the death penalty but no one has been executed since Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi war criminal, who was hanged in 1962 after being captured by Israeli agents in Argentina.
The metal detectors are part of a bigger argument over the so-called “status quo” at the holy site. While al-Aqsa is sacred to Muslims, it is also holy to Jews who refer to the area as the Temple Mount and believe it is the site where Abraham offered to sacrifice his son Isaac to God.
Palestinian Muslim worshippers pray outside Lion's Gate on Wednesday night CREDIT: AFP
When Israel took control of the area during the 1967 war its government had to decide whether to allow Jewish worship at the site and risk inflaming tensions with Palestinians. Israel opted for a compromise: only Muslims would be allowed to pray at the site but Jews could visit at certain times and under certain restrictions.
That “status quo” has more or less held for fifty years but many Palestinians are convinced Israel is trying to take control over al-Aqsa, also known as the Temple Mount. In the metal detectors and other security barriers, they saw just such a sign.
Israel firmly denies that it has any plans to alter the status quo agreement.
Raf Sanchez, middle east correspondent
27 JULY 2017
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