"There is no intention of changing the status quo on the Temple Mount," a source in the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, using the Israeli term for the compound which is located in the Old City.
The plaza is often at the centre of tensions because it is the third holiest site in Islam but also the most sacred place in Judaism.
Non-Muslim visits to the compound are permitted and regulated by police, but Jews are not allowed to pray there for fear it could trigger major disturbances, nor do they enter the mosques there.
Visits by religious nationalist Israelis tend to trigger clashes between stonethrowing youths and Israeli police, as well as complaints from Jordan which overseas Muslim heritage sites in Jerusalem.
Palestinians fear the visits are an attempt to usurp the site, and in recent months the clashes have multiplied, with police vowing to crack down on violence there....................AFP.............http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/israel-says-no-plan-to-allow-jews-to-pray-at-al-aqsa.aspx?pageID=238&nID=73344&NewsCatID=352
22/10/14
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- Israel detains 9 Palestinian women outside Al-Aqsa ...
Israeli police on Wednesday detained nine Palestinian women outside the gates of East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, a mosque guard has said.
The guard, who asked not to be named, told Anadolu Agency that he knew the families of two of the detained women.
He added that two more Palestinian women had been summoned to an East Jerusalem police station for questioning.
"The 11 women were probably accused of chanting 'Allahu Akbar' ['God is great'] when Israeli settlers entered the mosque complex," the guard said.
Palestinian Muslims praying at the site often shout the phrase whenever extremist Jewish settlers enter the mosque complex – usually backed by Israeli police – to protest their presence in the holy sanctuary.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two prominent Jewish temples in ancient times.
Earlier Wednesday, around 100 Israelis – including intelligence personnel and police officers – forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in several groups, according to a Palestinian mosque guard.......................http://www.aa.com.tr/en/news/408711--israel-detains-9-palestinian-women-outside-al-aqsa
22/10/14
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The State Department expressed concern on Wednesday that the derailing of a car in Jerusalem, injuring 7 and killing one infant, was a deliberate, terrorist act....
ReplyDeleteLocal police are investigating the incident, and are considering terrorism a motivation, authorities say.
State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf "urged restraint" and called on all parties to "maintain calm" as Israel gathers facts on the incident.
Harf said she was not in a position to confirm or deny the citizenship of the victims, amid reports that several are American.
http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/US-urges-calm-restraint-amid-reported-terror-in-Jerusalem-379547
22/10/14