(AFP)
12 March 2010
JERUSALEM - Israeli police said they would bar Muslim men under the age of 50 from prayers on Friday at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound, one of Islam’s holiest sites, fearing clashes.
The move comes after violent clashes at the disputed holy site at last week’s prayers and fresh tensions over Israeli plans to build 1,600 houses in mostly Arab east Jerusalem.
Men under the age of 50 would be barred from the Friday prayers, while women of all ages would be permitted, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP, adding that police would bolster their forces.
“We are stepping up security in east Jerusalem after getting information of plans to cause disturbances,” he said.
The compound containing the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock is Islam’s third-holiest site, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. It is Judaism’s holiest site, known as the Temple Mount.
Last week riot police stormed the hilltop enclosure when the Muslim protesters threw stones after the main weekly prayers.
The police fired tear gas and threw stun grenades to disperse the protesters, before skirmishes continued in the lanes and alleys of the Old City outside the compound.
Several dozen people were wounded, including about 15 police, before the confrontation ended with the Israeli forces leaving the compound after negotiating with Muslim authorities there.
Source: Khaleej Times.
Link: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/March/middleeast_March250.xml§ion=middleeast&col=.
12 March 2010
JERUSALEM - Israeli police said they would bar Muslim men under the age of 50 from prayers on Friday at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound, one of Islam’s holiest sites, fearing clashes.
The move comes after violent clashes at the disputed holy site at last week’s prayers and fresh tensions over Israeli plans to build 1,600 houses in mostly Arab east Jerusalem.
Men under the age of 50 would be barred from the Friday prayers, while women of all ages would be permitted, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP, adding that police would bolster their forces.
“We are stepping up security in east Jerusalem after getting information of plans to cause disturbances,” he said.
The compound containing the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock is Islam’s third-holiest site, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. It is Judaism’s holiest site, known as the Temple Mount.
Last week riot police stormed the hilltop enclosure when the Muslim protesters threw stones after the main weekly prayers.
The police fired tear gas and threw stun grenades to disperse the protesters, before skirmishes continued in the lanes and alleys of the Old City outside the compound.
Several dozen people were wounded, including about 15 police, before the confrontation ended with the Israeli forces leaving the compound after negotiating with Muslim authorities there.
Source: Khaleej Times.
Link: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/March/middleeast_March250.xml§ion=middleeast&col=.
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