AMMAN: Thousands of worshippers surged into Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday after Israel lifted security measures imposed at the site.
Reuters reported at least 113 hurt in scuffles with Israeli police. Chaotic scenes unfolded as police used stun grenades to try to control crowds charging forward when the last gate Muslims use to enter Al-Aqsa was opened after a standoff lasting several hours.
“We will sacrifice ourselves for Al-Aqsa,” chanted the throng outside Islam’s third-holiest site.
Several young men clambered onto the mosque’s roof to affix Palestinian flags, which Israeli police soon confiscated.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said during an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo: “Israel is playing with fire and will flare up a religious war. It will shift the grounds of the conflict from political to sectarian ones.”
In a statement, the ministers praised “the efforts of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (King Salman) to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
They called on the UN Security Council to oblige Israel to stop its policies and “illegal aggressions” in East Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa.
The Saudi Royal Court on Thursday said King Salman had made contact with various world leaders regarding tensions in Jerusalem, sparked when Israel set up metal detectors at entry points to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Riyadh urged the US to exert all possible efforts to prevent the closure of the compound to Muslim worshippers and restrictions on their entry.
The Kingdom stressed the right of Muslims to pray and perform their religious duties at the mosque in peace.
King Salman stressed the need to restore calm in the area around the compound, and to respect the sanctity of the site.
Saudi Arabia also highlighted the importance of achieving a just and comprehensive solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative, the two-state solution and relevant UN resolutions.
Nearly two weeks after being banned from praying in the mosque, Palestinians flocked there on Thursday afternoon for Asr prayers after Israel removed the metal detectors. This followed daily prayers on the hot pavement of Jerusalem’s streets.
The breakthrough was announced at a press conference on Thursday at the Islamic Court in Jerusalem.
It came after weeks of protests and high-level consultations that included Jordan’s King Abdallah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior US officials including Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump.
A statement was issued by the newly established Islamic Religious Reference Group, comprising the director of the Waqf, the Supreme Islamic Council, the mufti of Jerusalem and the Court of Islamic Shariah. The statement called for an end to the protests outside the mosque.
Naser Abu Sharifa, a senior guard at the mosque, told Arab News: “Today is a wonderful day that has brought back a sliver of our pride and dignity, and allowed us to reunite with our beloved mosque.”
Palestinians flock back to Al-Aqsa Mosque
Palestinians flock back to Al-Aqsa Mosque
Family of Palestinian-American shot dead by Israeli settler demand accountability
- Relatives say Abu Siyam was among about 30 residents from the village of Mukhmas who confronted armed settlers attempting to steal goats from the community
LONDON: The family of a 19-year-old Palestinian-American man reportedly shot dead by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank have demanded accountability, amid mounting scrutiny over a surge in settler violence and a lack of prosecutions.
Nasrallah Abu Siyam, a US citizen born in Philadelphia, was killed near the city of Ramallah on Wednesday, becoming at least the sixth American citizen to die in incidents involving Israeli settlers or soldiers in the territory in the past two years.
Relatives say Abu Siyam was among about 30 residents from the village of Mukhmas who confronted armed settlers attempting to steal goats from the community. Witnesses said that stones were thrown by both sides before settlers opened fire, wounding at least three villagers.
Abu Siyam was struck and later died of his injuries.
Abdulhamid Siyam, the victim’s cousin, said the killing reflected a wider pattern of impunity.
“A young man of 19 shot and killed in cold blood, and no responsibility,” he told the BBC. “Impunity completely.”
The US State Department said that it was aware of the death of a US citizen and was “carefully monitoring the situation,” while the Trump administration said that it stood ready to provide consular assistance.
The Israeli embassy in Washington said the incident was under review and that an operational inquiry “must be completed as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces said troops were deployed to the scene and used “riot dispersal means to restore order,” adding that no IDF gunfire was reported.
The military confirmed that the incident remained under review and said that a continued presence would be maintained in the area to prevent further unrest.
Palestinians and human rights organizations say such reviews rarely lead to criminal accountability, arguing that Israeli authorities routinely fail to prosecute settlers accused of violence.
A US embassy spokesperson later said that Washington “condemns this violence,” as international concern continues to grow over conditions in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinians and human rights groups say Israeli authorities routinely fail to investigate or prosecute settlers accused of violence against civilians.
Those concerns were echoed this week by the UN, which warned that Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank may amount to ethnic cleansing.
A UN human rights office report on Thursday said that Israeli settlement expansion, settler attacks and military operations have increasingly displaced Palestinian communities, with dozens of villages reportedly emptied since the start of the Gaza war.
The report also criticized Israeli military tactics in the northern West Bank, saying that they resembled warfare and led to mass displacement, while noting abuses by Palestinian security forces, including the use of unnecessary lethal force and the intimidation of critics.
Neither Israel’s foreign ministry nor the Palestinian Authority has commented on the findings.
