JERUSALEM: Israeli police closed the gates to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for several hours on Friday after clashes erupted with Palestinian worshippers following midday prayers at the flashpoint site.
For around four hours all entry into and out of the mosque, which is Islam’s third holiest site, was prevented by Israeli officers, an AFP photographer said, following clashes inside.
The compound was reopened in the early evening, with worshippers flooding in to pray, the photographer said.
Police said the clashes were sparked after Friday midday prayers as “rioters started to throw fireworks directly at police.”
“Police entered the compound and began evacuating the site. During dispersal of the rioters police arrested a number of suspects,” a statement said.
The Waqf, the religious authority that governs the site, published videos showing police firing tear gas at Palestinians inside the mosque compound.
Police later surrounded the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which shares the compound with the gold-topped Dome of the Rock, before entering they said to arrest “several dozen rioters who continued to blockade themselves” in the building. Jordan criticized the Israeli measures.
In a statement, a government spokesman condemned the “ongoing violations and provocations against the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, especially the Israeli police storming the mosque today and its aggression against the worshippers.”
Ahmed Tibi, an Arab member of the Israeli Parliament, accused Israeli officials of overreacting.
After the fireworks were thrown, he told AFP at the site, “it was calm, why did they close the gates?“
“There is nothing justifying closing them.”
The mosque is a rallying point for Palestinians and Muslims generally, who fear Israel is seeking to change the so-called status quo arrangement at the site.
In July 2017, tens of thousands of Palestinians prayed outside for weeks after Israel installed new metal detectors following an attack at Al-Aqsa, eventually forcing a government u-turn.
Palestinians say a visit to the site by right wing Israeli politician Ariel Sharon sparked the second intifada, or uprising, in 2000, though Israel disputes this.
Fresh Palestinian protests were taking place along the Gaza-Israel border on Friday evening, a week after an Israeli soldier was shot dead there.
One Palestinian was shot dead near Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, the Health Ministry in Gaza said.
Al-Aqsa Mosque reopens after clashes
Al-Aqsa Mosque reopens after clashes
- The Waqf published videos showing police firing tear gas at Palestinians inside the mosque compound
- Palestinians say a visit to the site by right wing Israeli politician Ariel Sharon sparked the second intifada IN 2000
Baghdad traders protest new customs tariffs
- The demonstrators gathered outside the General Customs Directorate on Sunday, chanting slogans against corruption and rejecting the new fees
BAGHDAD: Hundreds of traders and owners of customs clearance companies protested in central Baghdad on Sunday, demanding that Iraq’s government reverse recently imposed customs tariffs they say have sharply increased their costs and disrupted trade.
The new tariffs that took effect on Jan. 1 were imposed to reduce the country’s debt and reliance on oil revenues, as oil prices have fallen.
Iraq faces a debt of more than 90 trillion Iraqi dinars ($69 billion) — and a state budget that remains reliant on oil for about 90 percent of revenues, despite attempts to diversify.
But traders say the new tariffs — in some cases as high as 30 percent — have placed an unfair burden on them. Opponents have filed a lawsuit aiming to reduce the decision, which Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court is set to rule on Wednesday.
The demonstrators gathered outside the General Customs Directorate on Sunday, chanting slogans against corruption and rejecting the new fees.
“We used to pay about 3 million dinars per container, but now in some cases they ask for up to 14 million,” said Haider Al-Safi, a transport and customs clearance company owner.
“Even infant milk fees rose from about 495,000 dinars to nearly 3 million.”
He said that the new tariffs have caused a backlog of goods at the Umm Qasr port in southern Iraq and added that electric vehicles, previously exempt from customs duties, are now subject to a 15 percent fee.
“The main victim is the citizen with limited income, and government employee whose salary barely covers his daily living, those who have to pay rent, and have children with school expenses — they all will be affected by the market,” said Mohammed Samir, a wholesale trader from Baghdad.
Protesters also accused influential groups of facilitating the release of goods in exchange for lower unofficial payments, calling it widespread corruption.
Many traders, they said, are now considering routing their imports through the Kurdistan region, where fees are lower.
The protests coincided with a nationwide strike by shop owners, who closed markets and stores in several parts of Baghdad to oppose the tariff increase.
In major commercial districts, shops remained shut and hung up banners reading “Customs fees are killing citizens.”
