Israel Matzav

'Palestinians' riot over entry restrictions

In addition to being Hoshana Rabba, today is the third Friday of Ramadamadan. The IDF placed on restrictions on the entry of 'Palestinian' males into Jerusalem and the Temple Mount: Male entrants had to be over the age of 40 and holders of Israeli identification cards. Effectively, this meant no (male) residents of Judea and Samaria would be allowed in. At the Atarot checkpoint to the north of the city, and the Bethlehem checkpoint to the south (among others), the 'Palestinians' rioted.

Hundreds of Palestinians hurled stones at Israeli policemen and Border Guard officers at the Atarot checkpoint northeast of Jerusalem on Friday, police said.

Police fired stun grenades to disperse the crowd. No injuries were reported.

...

An estimated 175,000 worshipers attended Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Large police forces were deployed around the site and inside the Old City to prevent clashes.

United Arab List-Ta'al MK Ahmad Tibi said Friday that Israel is breach basic human rights by preventing thousands of Palestinians from attending prayers at al-Aqsa.

"The international community has to act to lift the ban on Muslims from the territories to visit Jerusalem," he said.

HaAretz adds:

Security forces are not allowing Palestinian men younger than 40 to participate in Friday prayers at the Temple Mount, fearing disturbances. The restrictions have been in place since Ramadan began three weeks ago, during which time police have also bolstered their presence in the Old City of Jerusalem over the past three weeks.

Jerusalem police commander Ilan Franco said Friday that the restrictions on West Bank residents were put in place for "security reasons" and added that no restrictions were placed on Israeli Arabs or East Jerusalem residents.

Franco said there had been similar incidents at checkpoints the last two Fridays, but that the protests this week were more intense.

Arutz Sheva points out:

While Israel grapples with fine tuning the age limit to enable Moslem worship without violence, the neighboring Palestinian Authority has overseen the vandalism of Jewish holy sites including Joseph's Tomb in Shechem and the destruction of the synagogues in Gush Katif. No efforts have been made by the PA to restore the Jewish holy sites.

So let's keep this in perspective.

And for the record, Hoshana Rabba is probably the second most crowded day of the year at the Western Wall after Shavuoth (with the two Priestly Blessings on Pesach and Sukkoth also drawing large crowds).

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:55 PM