Tensions High Over Jerusalem Holy Site
November 6, 2014
A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced today that the prime minister has refused to lift restrictions on Jews praying at the Jerusalem site known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount. The site, which Muslims regard as sacred, includes the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the Dome of the Rock. Pushing back against right-wing Cabinet ministers and members of the Knesset, Netanyahu insists that there will be no change in the status quo regarding the historic site of the ancient Jewish First and Second Temples. (The First Temple, built by Solomon, was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II after the Siege of Jerusalem of 587 B.C.; the Second Temple, built by Herod the Great, was destroyed by the Roman Emperor Titus in A.D. 70.)
The Dome of the Rock (above) is part of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which stands on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Both Israelis and Palestinians blame a recent upswing of violence on Jewish extremists demanding greater access to the site. © Shutterstock
Under longstanding arrangements for the site’s administration, Jews and Christians are allowed to visit but not to pray. Demands by Jewish extremists for greater access to the site are blamed by both Israelis and Palestinians for a recent upswing in violent confrontations in Jerusalem.
Yesterday, a Palestinian driver rammed a car into a group of pedestrians in Jerusalem, killing a policeman and injuring 12 others. A similar car attack by a Palestinian Hamas militant left a woman and a baby dead in the same area two weeks ago.
Yesterday’s attack came one day after Israeli police used tear gas, stun grenades, and rubber bullets against a crowd of Palestinian protesters throwing stones and fireworks at the al-Aqsa compound. There has been growing unrest in East Jerusalem in recent months with Palestinians angry at Israeli settlement expansion and the government restricting access to the al-Aqsa site. Israeli police are currently baring male Muslim worshippers under the age of 50 from entering the compound as a security measure.
