By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
JERUSALEM, Israel/West Bank – Israeli police clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on October 25. The incident was the latest in a recent series of tension-building confrontations between Israelis and Palestinians at the holy site.
In recent weeks, Palestinian demonstrators have taken to the streets of Jerusalem’s Old City, protesting the Israeli presence in the area and rumors that Israelis were conducting archaeological investigations underneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The site is holy to both Jews and Muslims. Jews know the site as the Temple Mount, and they believe it was the site of King Solomon’s temple. Muslims call the site Haram al-Sharif, and believe it was the site where the Prophet Mohammed ascended into heaven.
Though it remains unclear what was the catalyst for this most recent clash, early on the morning on October 25, Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli soldiers, who reportedly returned with stun grenades. Israeli police subsequently stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound two times.
As many as thirty Palestinians and nine Israeli police were injured, while twenty-one Palestinians were reportedly arrested. A journalist working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was also reportedly taken to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem to be treated for a broken jaw. Hatem Abdul Qader, the lead official in Jerusalem for the Palestinian Authority, was among those arrested. Qader was subsequently banned from the Old City for three weeks.
One local observer told Australia’s The Age that he watched the day’s events unfold from the Lion’s Gate to the Old City.
“I believe there was provocation on both sides,” said Mohammed Khan, a 21-year-old Palestinian. “The Israeli police knew that Palestinian people want to protest the occupation, so they come in large numbers …But many Palestinians see this as offensive, so they start throwing stones and then violence spread.”
The Israeli police reported that the Al-Aqsa Mosque was re-opened on the following day, though the re-opening was certainly not a resolution to the tension in Jerusalem’s Old City. A right-wing Israeli group called for Jewish mobilization to construct a third Jewish temple on the site. On the other end of the spectrum, Khaled Meshaal, the exiled leader of Hamas, called for Palestinians to abandon the peace process and respond to any Israeli violence with violence in kind.
For more information, please see:
The Age (Australia) – Israelis and Palestinians Clash on Temple Mount – 27 October 2009
Al Jazeera – Meshaal Urges Arab Action on Aqsa – 26 October 2009
Ma’an News Agency – PA Official Banned from Jerusalem After Demonstration – 26 October 2009
Ha’aretz – Israel Police Battle Arab Rioters on Temple Mount; PA Official Arrested – 25 October 2009
New York Times – Israeli Police Clash with Palestinians at Sacred Compound in Jerusalem – 25 October 2009
