Israel claims Muslims barricaded in Al-Aqsa Mosque are 'dangerous mob' after Jordan warning
By Adam Schrader
Palestinian women cross the Qalandia checkpoint between the West Bank and Jerusalem, to attend the third Friday prayer of the holy month of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Photo by Alaa Badarne/HEPA-EFE
April 8 (UPI) -- Israel claimed without providing evidence Saturday that Muslims barricaded inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem are a "dangerous mob" after a warning from the Jordanian Foreign Ministry about breaching the sacred site and assaulting worshippers.
Tensions in the Middle East have been rising after Israeli police raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque and assaulting Palestinian worshippers celebrating the month of Ramadan, forcing them out to allow Israelis inside.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is located at the Temple Mount, the highly contested holy site for Muslims, Jews and Christians. The site is under the management of the government of Jordan and Jewish religious law prevents visiting the site.
Jordan's Foreign Ministry released a statement Saturday warning Israeli officials that there are "disastrous consequences" for Israel's "continued violation" of the sanctity of the mosque and the right of Muslims to worship Ramadan as Israel plans to again remove worshippers from the holy site.
Israel strikes Gaza, Lebanon in escalation of conflict after Al-Aqsa mosque raid
The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded by alleging that everyone holed up inside the mosque are a "dangerous mob" who are "radicalized and incited by Hamas and other terrorist groups."
Israel holds Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, responsible for all actions from Gaza.
"We call on Jordan, through the Waqf guards, to immediately remove from the Al-Aqsa Mosque these extremists who are planning to riot tomorrow during Muslim prayers on the Temple Mount and the Priestly Blessing at the Western Wall," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
The United States and Israel are long-time allies and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called Yoav Gallant, his Israeli counterpart, on Saturday to underscore "his support for Israel's security against all threats," according to a readout from the U.S. Defense Department.
The news came as the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said in a statement that Israeli forces shot dead a young Palestinian man in the West Bank.
April 8 (UPI) -- Israel claimed without providing evidence Saturday that Muslims barricaded inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem are a "dangerous mob" after a warning from the Jordanian Foreign Ministry about breaching the sacred site and assaulting worshippers.
Tensions in the Middle East have been rising after Israeli police raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque and assaulting Palestinian worshippers celebrating the month of Ramadan, forcing them out to allow Israelis inside.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is located at the Temple Mount, the highly contested holy site for Muslims, Jews and Christians. The site is under the management of the government of Jordan and Jewish religious law prevents visiting the site.
Jordan's Foreign Ministry released a statement Saturday warning Israeli officials that there are "disastrous consequences" for Israel's "continued violation" of the sanctity of the mosque and the right of Muslims to worship Ramadan as Israel plans to again remove worshippers from the holy site.
Israel strikes Gaza, Lebanon in escalation of conflict after Al-Aqsa mosque raid
The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded by alleging that everyone holed up inside the mosque are a "dangerous mob" who are "radicalized and incited by Hamas and other terrorist groups."
Israel holds Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, responsible for all actions from Gaza.
"We call on Jordan, through the Waqf guards, to immediately remove from the Al-Aqsa Mosque these extremists who are planning to riot tomorrow during Muslim prayers on the Temple Mount and the Priestly Blessing at the Western Wall," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
The United States and Israel are long-time allies and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called Yoav Gallant, his Israeli counterpart, on Saturday to underscore "his support for Israel's security against all threats," according to a readout from the U.S. Defense Department.
The news came as the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said in a statement that Israeli forces shot dead a young Palestinian man in the West Bank.
The provocative scene at Al Aqsa mosque
07 Apr 2023
Israeli police carry off a Palestinian from the Al Aqsa Mosque compound following a raid of the site in Jerusalem’s Old City. APThe settled international norm is that only Muslims can worship in the Al Aqsa mosque, the third holiest Islamic shrine in the world, has been under siege as Israeli troops stormed into the mosque compound and earlier in the week fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse Palestinians gathered inside the mosque, and several of the Palestinians were seriously injured. The Palestinians wanted to stay overnight and offer the traditional night prayers but the Israeli authorities usually allow this only in the last 10 days of Ramadan. The Palestinians were also readying themselves as they were responding to the threat of some Jews who wanted to sacrifice an animal to mark the Jewish religious observance of the Feast of Passover in the mosque compound. This was a provocative act in the holy month of Ramadan, and the hardline groups from the Gaza Strip fired rockets into Israel, and it looked like that another vicious cycle of violence had begun. Both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia condemned the Israeli troops entering the Al Aqsa. On the other hand, Israelis have been offering prayers at the Wailing Wall, the remaining part of the old Jewish temple attributed to the legendary Solomon, and this in violation of the international norm.
Meanwhile Israel has been bombing Syrian targets backed by the Iranians. And on Wednesday, rockets were fired from Lebanon into north Israel, and a Lebanese security official speaking on condition of anonymity said that it were Palestinian groups which were firing the rockets and not the Israel-backed anti-Israel group Hizbollah. The Hizbollah had already condemned Israeli troops storming the Al Aqsa. This statement if accepted would help avoid a wider conflagration. But tensions are rising mainly due to the provocative stance of the far-right parties in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu-led coalition government.
The United States had defended the aggressive stance of the Israeli government, both in Gaza and in Syria. Principal Deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said, “Israel has legitimate security concerns and has every right to defend themselves.” But he was also careful enough to assert: “We emphasise the importance of upholding the historic status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem and any unilateral action that jeopardises the status quo to us is unacceptable.” But the question is how much the aggressive elements in Netanyahu’s government would heed the American warnings, especially National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The new Israeli government while facing massive unrest over its attempt to weaken the Israeli Supreme Court though legislation, but the government’s far-right elements are only too eager to provoke the Palestinians on the religious score, and it is this provocative attitude that could alienate Israel from its newly-made friends like UAE among the Gulf Arab states. And America is not in position to rein in the extreme elements in Israel’s coalition government. It would be unreasonable to demand that the Palestinians, who are hemmed in the crowded West Bank cities and towns that they should not be provoked by the Israelis. The tactic of the Israeli authorities is to humiliate the Palestinians by hurting their religious sentiments. That is an incendiary policy if there is one. Israel is overconfident that it can parry any military response from its Arab neighbourhood. But that could be changing fast enough with Russia and China entering the Middle Eastern checkerboard in terms of diplomatic and military intervention. Until now, it were the US and Israel which were able to dictate the Middle East security scenario. This is fast changing. The recent moves by Gulf Arab leaders to integrate Syria and its leader Bashar Al Assad into the Gulf Arab security architecture reveals the determination of the Gulf Arab states to pursue their own specific geo-strategic interests. Israel cannot hope to control the narrative with the help of the Americans.
07 Apr 2023
Israeli police carry off a Palestinian from the Al Aqsa Mosque compound following a raid of the site in Jerusalem’s Old City. APThe settled international norm is that only Muslims can worship in the Al Aqsa mosque, the third holiest Islamic shrine in the world, has been under siege as Israeli troops stormed into the mosque compound and earlier in the week fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse Palestinians gathered inside the mosque, and several of the Palestinians were seriously injured. The Palestinians wanted to stay overnight and offer the traditional night prayers but the Israeli authorities usually allow this only in the last 10 days of Ramadan. The Palestinians were also readying themselves as they were responding to the threat of some Jews who wanted to sacrifice an animal to mark the Jewish religious observance of the Feast of Passover in the mosque compound. This was a provocative act in the holy month of Ramadan, and the hardline groups from the Gaza Strip fired rockets into Israel, and it looked like that another vicious cycle of violence had begun. Both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia condemned the Israeli troops entering the Al Aqsa. On the other hand, Israelis have been offering prayers at the Wailing Wall, the remaining part of the old Jewish temple attributed to the legendary Solomon, and this in violation of the international norm.
Meanwhile Israel has been bombing Syrian targets backed by the Iranians. And on Wednesday, rockets were fired from Lebanon into north Israel, and a Lebanese security official speaking on condition of anonymity said that it were Palestinian groups which were firing the rockets and not the Israel-backed anti-Israel group Hizbollah. The Hizbollah had already condemned Israeli troops storming the Al Aqsa. This statement if accepted would help avoid a wider conflagration. But tensions are rising mainly due to the provocative stance of the far-right parties in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu-led coalition government.
The United States had defended the aggressive stance of the Israeli government, both in Gaza and in Syria. Principal Deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said, “Israel has legitimate security concerns and has every right to defend themselves.” But he was also careful enough to assert: “We emphasise the importance of upholding the historic status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem and any unilateral action that jeopardises the status quo to us is unacceptable.” But the question is how much the aggressive elements in Netanyahu’s government would heed the American warnings, especially National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The new Israeli government while facing massive unrest over its attempt to weaken the Israeli Supreme Court though legislation, but the government’s far-right elements are only too eager to provoke the Palestinians on the religious score, and it is this provocative attitude that could alienate Israel from its newly-made friends like UAE among the Gulf Arab states. And America is not in position to rein in the extreme elements in Israel’s coalition government. It would be unreasonable to demand that the Palestinians, who are hemmed in the crowded West Bank cities and towns that they should not be provoked by the Israelis. The tactic of the Israeli authorities is to humiliate the Palestinians by hurting their religious sentiments. That is an incendiary policy if there is one. Israel is overconfident that it can parry any military response from its Arab neighbourhood. But that could be changing fast enough with Russia and China entering the Middle Eastern checkerboard in terms of diplomatic and military intervention. Until now, it were the US and Israel which were able to dictate the Middle East security scenario. This is fast changing. The recent moves by Gulf Arab leaders to integrate Syria and its leader Bashar Al Assad into the Gulf Arab security architecture reveals the determination of the Gulf Arab states to pursue their own specific geo-strategic interests. Israel cannot hope to control the narrative with the help of the Americans.
After Days Of Violence, Jerusalem Prayers End Peacefully
April 9, 2023
Ramadan prayers and Jewish Passover visits at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound passed without incident on Sunday, after days of tension at the flashpoint Jerusalem site which led to cross-border exchanges of fire.
Small groups of Jewish visitors under heavy police guard walked through the mosque compound, known in Judaism as Temple Mount, as thousands of worshippers gathered for the Passover holiday’s special “Priestly Blessing” at the Western Wall below.
The Al-Aqsa compound – sacred to Muslims and Jews – has been at the centre of a security crisis set off last week when Israeli police raided the mosque to dislodge what they said were youths barricaded inside armed with rocks and fireworks.
Footage of the raid, showing police beating worshippers, triggered a furious reaction across the Arab world, sparking rocket attacks on Israel by Palestinian factions that were met with Israeli strikes on sites in Gaza, south Lebanon and Syria.
There were no reports of casualties.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanon’s armed Shi’ite movement Hezbollah, met with Palestinian Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Lebanon, the group said on Sunday, and discussed the Al-Aqsa events.
Israeli security experts have said that Iran-backed Hezbollah likely gave its permission to Islamist Hamas to fire the rockets from Lebanon.
“Our enemies were wrong when they thought that Israel’s citizens were not united in support for the IDF (Israel Defence Forces),” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who is facing unprecedented protests at home against judicial changes – said in a statement.
In Gaza, Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesperson urged “all fronts to unite and confront the escalation by the arrogant (Israeli) occupation.”
HOLIDAY CLOSURE
The Israeli military said that in light of the security situation, it would extend a closure on the West Bank and Gaza until April 13, when Passover ends.
On Friday, two Israeli sisters from a settlement in the occupied West Bank were killed when their car came under fire by suspected Palestinian gunmen. Hours later, an Italian tourist was killed when a car driven by a man from an Arab city in Israel ploughed into a group in a shoreline park in Tel Aviv.
The funeral of the two sisters, who had dual Israeli and British nationality, is due to be held later on Sunday.
After a year of escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence, tensions are running especially high as Ramadan and Passover coincide, with a focus on the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem’s walled Old City. Clashes there between police and worshippers helped spark a 10-day war Israel-Gaza war in 2021.
As in previous years, the government is expected to ban entry to the compound to non-Muslims for the last 10 days of Ramadan, which is expected to end on April 20 or 21, though far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called for the ban not to be imposed this year.
The post After Days Of Violence, Jerusalem Prayers End Peacefully appeared first on International Business Times.
April 9, 2023
Ramadan prayers and Jewish Passover visits at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound passed without incident on Sunday, after days of tension at the flashpoint Jerusalem site which led to cross-border exchanges of fire.
Small groups of Jewish visitors under heavy police guard walked through the mosque compound, known in Judaism as Temple Mount, as thousands of worshippers gathered for the Passover holiday’s special “Priestly Blessing” at the Western Wall below.
The Al-Aqsa compound – sacred to Muslims and Jews – has been at the centre of a security crisis set off last week when Israeli police raided the mosque to dislodge what they said were youths barricaded inside armed with rocks and fireworks.
Footage of the raid, showing police beating worshippers, triggered a furious reaction across the Arab world, sparking rocket attacks on Israel by Palestinian factions that were met with Israeli strikes on sites in Gaza, south Lebanon and Syria.
There were no reports of casualties.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanon’s armed Shi’ite movement Hezbollah, met with Palestinian Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Lebanon, the group said on Sunday, and discussed the Al-Aqsa events.
Israeli security experts have said that Iran-backed Hezbollah likely gave its permission to Islamist Hamas to fire the rockets from Lebanon.
“Our enemies were wrong when they thought that Israel’s citizens were not united in support for the IDF (Israel Defence Forces),” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who is facing unprecedented protests at home against judicial changes – said in a statement.
In Gaza, Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesperson urged “all fronts to unite and confront the escalation by the arrogant (Israeli) occupation.”
HOLIDAY CLOSURE
The Israeli military said that in light of the security situation, it would extend a closure on the West Bank and Gaza until April 13, when Passover ends.
On Friday, two Israeli sisters from a settlement in the occupied West Bank were killed when their car came under fire by suspected Palestinian gunmen. Hours later, an Italian tourist was killed when a car driven by a man from an Arab city in Israel ploughed into a group in a shoreline park in Tel Aviv.
The funeral of the two sisters, who had dual Israeli and British nationality, is due to be held later on Sunday.
After a year of escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence, tensions are running especially high as Ramadan and Passover coincide, with a focus on the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem’s walled Old City. Clashes there between police and worshippers helped spark a 10-day war Israel-Gaza war in 2021.
As in previous years, the government is expected to ban entry to the compound to non-Muslims for the last 10 days of Ramadan, which is expected to end on April 20 or 21, though far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called for the ban not to be imposed this year.
The post After Days Of Violence, Jerusalem Prayers End Peacefully appeared first on International Business Times.
Tensions build around Jerusalem shrine after Syria rockets
By Associated Press
Thousands of Jewish worshippers gathered at the city's Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray, for a mass priestly benediction prayer service for the Passover holiday.
At the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a walled esplanade above the Western Wall, hundreds of Palestinians performed prayers as part of observances during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Hundreds of Jews also visited the Al-Aqsa compound under heavy police guard on Sunday, to whistles and religious chants from Palestinians protesting their presence.
Israeli officials say they have no intention of changing long-standing arrangements that allow Jews to visit, but not pray in the Muslim-administered site.
However, the country is now governed by the most right-wing government in its history, with ultra-nationalists in senior positions.
Tensions have soared in the past week at the flashpoint shrine after an Israeli police raid on the mosque.
On several occasions, Palestinians have barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque with stones and firecrackers, demanding the right to pray there overnight, something Israel has in the past only allowed during the last 10 days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Police removed them by force, detaining hundreds and leaving dozens injured.
The violence at the shrine triggered rocket fire by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon, starting on Wednesday, and Israeli airstrikes targeted both areas.
Late on Saturday and early on Sunday, militants in Syria fired rockets in two salvos toward Israel and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.
A Damascus-based Palestinian group loyal to the Syrian government claimed responsibility for the first round of rockets, saying it was retaliating for the Al-Aqsa raids.
In the first salvo, one rocket landed in a field in the Golan Heights. Fragments of another destroyed missile fell into Jordanian territory near the Syrian border, Jordan's military reported.
In the second round, two of the rockets crossed the border into Israel, with one being intercepted and the second landing in an open area, the Israeli military said.
Israel responded with artillery fire into the area in Syria from where the rockets were fired. Later, the military said Israeli fighter jets attacked Syrian army sites, including a compound of Syria's 4th Division and radar and artillery posts.
In addition to the cross-border fighting, three people were killed over the weekend in Palestinian attacks in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
The funeral for two British-Israeli sisters, Maia and Rina Dee, who were killed in a shooting was scheduled for Sunday at a cemetery in the Jewish settlement of Kfar Etzion in the occupied West Bank.
'Fantastic' find under future Aldi site a colourful link to Roman times
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An Italian tourist, Alessandro Parini, 35, a lawyer from Rome, had just arrived in the city a few hours earlier with some friends for a brief Easter holiday. He was killed Friday in a suspected car-ramming on Tel Aviv's beachside promenade.
Over 90 Palestinians and have been killed by Israeli fire so far this year, at least half of them affiliated with militant groups, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Palestinian attacks on Israelis have killed 19 people in that time. All but one were civilians.
By Associated Press
Apr 9, 2023
Israeli warplanes and artillery have hit targets in Syria following rare rocket fire from the north-eastern neighbour, as Jewish-Muslim tensions reach a peak at a volatile Jerusalem shrine with simultaneous religious rituals.
Israeli warplanes and artillery have hit targets in Syria following rare rocket fire from the north-eastern neighbour, as Jewish-Muslim tensions reach a peak at a volatile Jerusalem shrine with simultaneous religious rituals.
Thousands of Jewish worshippers gathered at the city's Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray, for a mass priestly benediction prayer service for the Passover holiday.
At the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a walled esplanade above the Western Wall, hundreds of Palestinians performed prayers as part of observances during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Israeli police escort Jewish visitors marking the holiday of Passover to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Sunday. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) (AP)
Hundreds of Jews also visited the Al-Aqsa compound under heavy police guard on Sunday, to whistles and religious chants from Palestinians protesting their presence.
Such tours by religious and nationalist Jews have increased in size and frequency over the years, and are viewed with suspicion by many Palestinians who fear that Israel plans one day to take over the site or partition it.
Israeli officials say they have no intention of changing long-standing arrangements that allow Jews to visit, but not pray in the Muslim-administered site.
However, the country is now governed by the most right-wing government in its history, with ultra-nationalists in senior positions.
Tensions have soared in the past week at the flashpoint shrine after an Israeli police raid on the mosque.
On several occasions, Palestinians have barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque with stones and firecrackers, demanding the right to pray there overnight, something Israel has in the past only allowed during the last 10 days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Covered in prayer shawls, Jewish men of the Cohanim Priestly caste participate in a blessing during the holiday of Passover, in front of the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalem's Old City. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) (AP)
Police removed them by force, detaining hundreds and leaving dozens injured.
The violence at the shrine triggered rocket fire by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon, starting on Wednesday, and Israeli airstrikes targeted both areas.
Late on Saturday and early on Sunday, militants in Syria fired rockets in two salvos toward Israel and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.
A Damascus-based Palestinian group loyal to the Syrian government claimed responsibility for the first round of rockets, saying it was retaliating for the Al-Aqsa raids.
Israeli police escort Jewish visitors marking the holiday the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) (AP)
In the first salvo, one rocket landed in a field in the Golan Heights. Fragments of another destroyed missile fell into Jordanian territory near the Syrian border, Jordan's military reported.
In the second round, two of the rockets crossed the border into Israel, with one being intercepted and the second landing in an open area, the Israeli military said.
Israel responded with artillery fire into the area in Syria from where the rockets were fired. Later, the military said Israeli fighter jets attacked Syrian army sites, including a compound of Syria's 4th Division and radar and artillery posts.
Jewish men of the Cohanim Priestly caste participate in a blessing. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) (AP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the violence in a telephone call with Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog late Saturday, telling Herzog that Muslims could not remain silent about the "provocations and threats" against the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and said the hostilities that have spread to Gaza and Lebanon should not be allowed to escalate further.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the violence in a telephone call with Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog late Saturday, telling Herzog that Muslims could not remain silent about the "provocations and threats" against the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and said the hostilities that have spread to Gaza and Lebanon should not be allowed to escalate further.
In addition to the cross-border fighting, three people were killed over the weekend in Palestinian attacks in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
The funeral for two British-Israeli sisters, Maia and Rina Dee, who were killed in a shooting was scheduled for Sunday at a cemetery in the Jewish settlement of Kfar Etzion in the occupied West Bank.
'Fantastic' find under future Aldi site a colourful link to Roman times
View Gallery
An Italian tourist, Alessandro Parini, 35, a lawyer from Rome, had just arrived in the city a few hours earlier with some friends for a brief Easter holiday. He was killed Friday in a suspected car-ramming on Tel Aviv's beachside promenade.
Over 90 Palestinians and have been killed by Israeli fire so far this year, at least half of them affiliated with militant groups, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Palestinian attacks on Israelis have killed 19 people in that time. All but one were civilians.
People gather and lay flowers at the site where Alessandro Parini, an Italian tourist, was killed in a Palestinian attack, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) (AP)
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