Jerusalem, August 28: Israel plans to deploy thousands of police in Jerusalem and restrict access to Islam’s holiest site in the city on Friday
in a move that authorities said was meant to prevent violence during the holy month of Ramadan.
Large numbers of police will be stationed around Jerusalem and in the Old City, home to the Al Aqsa Mosque, a police statement said Thursday. Only Palestinian men over 50 and women over 45 will be allowed to enter from the West Bank, as well as Palestinians with special permits, the statement said. Under usual Israeli restrictions, only Palestinians with permits are allowed to enter Jerusalem from the West Bank.
“Police will act with determination to prevent any attempt by anyone to disturb the peace,” the statement warned.
Sheik Mohammed Hussein, a top Muslim cleric in Jerusalem, charged that the restrictions were part of an attempt by Israel to make Jerusalem Jewish and are “meant to limit the Palestinian and Islamic presence in Jerusalem.”
The stern security measures grew out of previous years, when Friday Ramadan prayers at Al Aqsa turned into riots against Israel. Friday is the Muslim day of worship and is marked by large communal prayers. This Friday is the first of Ramadan this year.
The restrictions will not apply to Palestinians who live in east Jerusalem, who hold Israeli residency rights, or Muslim citizens of Israel, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
The huge plaza in front of the silver-domed Al Aqsa Mosque, also home to the golden-topped Dome of the Rock shrine, has room for as many as 300,000 worshippers. In recent years, because of Israeli security restrictions, fewer have attended the Ramadan services on Friday.
The Muslim shrines were built atop the ruins of the biblical Jewish temples, making the walled hilltop one of the most sensitive flashpoints in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven from the site. Both sides claim sovereignty there.
Also Thursday, Palestinians said Israeli naval fire killed a Palestinian fisherman and wounded another in northern Gaza. Palestinian Health Ministry official Dr. Moaiya Hassanain said the fishermen were on the beach at the time.
The Israeli military denied involvement. “Following a thorough investigation of the claims, we found them completely unfounded,” the military said in a statement.
–Agencies