Jews challenge Muslim control of Temple Mount (Al Aksa). Calls to build
3rd
Temple where Dome of the Rock stands
Newsletter published 23 September 2013
(1) Map of Old City of Jerusalem,
showing Temple area
(2) Jews Challenge Rules to Claim Heart of Jerusalem -
NYT
(3) Over 300 Jews ascend the Temple Mount (Sept 18)
(4) Temple
Institute lobbies for building 3rd Jewish Temple where Dome
of the Rock
stands
(5) Palestinians inflamed by Jewish campaign to replace Dome of the
Rock
with a Jewish Temple
(6) Fifteen Palestinians arrested as Israel
tries to take over the
Temple Mount
(7) Extremist Israeli minister and
settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque
(8) Rabbi Chaim Richman's "Judaism For
Gentiles", "Light to the Nations"
(9) Dozens of Israeli settlers storm
Al-Aqsa Mosque
(10) Jewish settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque compound
(11)
Jewish settlers storm Aqsa Mosque compound again
(12) Jewish settlers storm
Aqsa Mosque again
(13) Israel uses camera footage to incriminate al-Aqsa
worshippers
(1) Map of Old City of Jerusalem, showing Temple area:
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/09/22/world/middleeast/22jerusalem-map/22jerusalem-map-articleInline.png
(2)
Jews Challenge Rules to Claim Heart of Jerusalem - NYT
http://nytimes.com/2013/09/22/world/middleeast/jews-challenge-rules-to-claim-heart-of-jerusalem.html
Jews
Challenge Rules to Claim Heart of Jerusalem
{photo} The Dome of the Rock
is in the center of the sacred compound at
the Temple Mount, or Noble
Sanctuary, perhaps the most religiously
contested site on earth.
Ammar
Awad / Reuters
{end}
By JODI RUDOREN
NYT, September 21,
2013
JERUSALEM — Small groups of Jews are increasingly ascending the
Temple
Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City, a sacred site controlled for centuries
by
Muslims, who see the visits as a provocation that could undermine the
fragile peace talks started this summer.
For decades the Israelis
drawn to the site were mainly a fringe of
hard-core zealots, but now more
mainstream Jews are lining up to enter,
as a widening group of Israeli
politicians and rabbis challenge the
longstanding rules constraining Jewish
access and conduct. Brides go on
their wedding days, synagogue and
religious-school groups make regular
outings, and many surreptitiously skirt
the ban on non-Muslim prayer,
like a Russian immigrant who daily recites the
morning liturgy in his
mind, as he did decades ago in the Soviet
Union.
Palestinian leaders say the new activity has created the worst
tension
in memory around the landmark Al Aksa Mosque and Dome of the Rock,
and
have called on Muslims to defend the site from “incursions.” A spate of
stone-throwing clashes erupted this month: on Wednesday, three Muslims
were arrested and an Israeli police officer wounded in the face. And on
Friday thousands of Arab citizens of Israel rallied in the north,
warning that Al Aksa is in danger.
“We reject these religious
visits,” Sheik Ekrima Sa’eed Sabri, who
oversees Muslim affairs in
Jerusalem, said in an interview. “Our duty is
to warn,” he added. “If they
want to make peace in this region, they
should stay away from Al
Aksa.”
The 37-acre site is perhaps the most religiously contested place
on
earth. Jews revere it as the home of the First and Second Temples more
than 2,000 years ago. For Muslims, who call the site the Noble
Sanctuary, it is the world’s third holiest spot, from which Muhammad is
believed to have ascended to heaven. More than 300,000 foreign tourists
also flock there annually, many of them Christians drawn to the ruins of
the Temple Jesus attended.
Politically, the competing claims to the
area are the nut around which
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict revolves, the
symbolic heart of each
side’s religious and historical attachment to
Jerusalem that has made
its governance one of the thorniest issues in peace
negotiations.
Israel captured the site along with the rest of East
Jerusalem and the
West Bank in 1967, with a general declaring dramatically,
“The Temple
Mount is in our hands!” But the government immediately returned
control
to the Muslim authorities, and ever since, a de facto accommodation
has
prevailed in which Muslims worship at Al Aksa above and Jews at the
Western Wall below, a remnant of the retaining wall around the ancient
Second Temple.
There have been flare-ups before. In 2000, a visit by
Ariel Sharon, then
Israel’s opposition leader, accompanied by 1,000 police
officers,
prompted a violent outbreak and, many argue, set off the second
intifada.
<INSET: Israeli security and border patrol officers were on
alert on
Wednesday at the entrance to the Temple Mount, or Noble Sanctuary,
after
clashes erupted there.
Rina Castelnuovo for The New York
Times>
Over the last few years, a cause long taken up by only a fringe
group of
far right-wingers has increasingly been embraced by the modern
Orthodox
— known here as religious Zionists — who have also gained political
power. At three recent Parliament hearings, religious lawmakers and
cabinet ministers questioned the status quo, in which non-Muslims can
enter the site only for a few hours five days a week, and those
identified by the police as Jews are separated, escorted by police
officers and admonished not to dance, sing, bow down or even move their
lips in prayer.
“The Temple Mount is in our hands — but is it
really?” asked Michael
Freund, a Jerusalem Post columnist who visited the
site as a child in
1977 and returned for the first time last year, with 50
members of his
synagogue. “It particularly offends me that the Israeli
government puts
into place restrictions which prevent Jews from fulfilling
their basic
right to freedom of worship.”
Jack Stroh, a cardiologist
from East Brunswick, N.J., who visited on
Wednesday, has been bringing
friends for five years before the holidays
of Sukkot and Passover — two of
three pilgrimage festivals when ancient
Jews were required to pray at the
Temples.
“My cousin said that if Jews don’t go up to the mountain there
is an
increased chance that the government will say Jews are not interested
and will give it away,” he said as his group waited to enter. “I’m
taking them up. Someone took me up. They’ll take other people up; it’s a
growing phenomenon.”
<INSET: Palestinian women protested Wednesday
outside the site, whose
gates were shut after violence flared.
Rina
Castelnuovo for The New York Times>
Amid the religious pilgrims on
Wednesday was Michal Berdugo, 25, a
secular Israeli who said it had been her
“dream for three years” to
visit. “It’s part of who we are,” she
said.
The recent shift has many roots. For years, most authorities on
Jewish
law said Jews should not enter the complex for fear of treading on
the
ancient Temple’s holiest spots, but recent archaeological work has led
some moderate and even liberal Orthodox rabbis to lift those bans. At
the same time, activists have stepped up their campaign for access and
prayer at the Temple Mount, part of a broader push to cement Jewish
control of all of Jerusalem.
Experts who have observed the phenomenon
also see it as a reaction to
Israel’s evacuation of Jews from the Gaza Strip
in 2005, a redirection
of Messianic energy once devoted to West Bank
settlements that many fear
could soon succumb to the same fate to make way
for a Palestinian state.
“The war for the land of Israel is not just
political, but essentially
spiritual,” said Yossi Klein Halevi, author of a
new book that traces
the lives of paratroopers who seized the Mount in 1967.
“Given that the
Temple Mount is the focal point of holiness in the Holy
Land, the
thinking is that we need to go to the source in order to prevent
the
further partition of the land.”
<INSET: An officer escorted a
Jewish man at the site the day before.
Rina Castelnuovo for The New York
Times>
Israel Police statistics show visits by people identified as
Jews rose
to 8,247 in 2011 from 5,792 in 2010, then dipped slightly last
year. The
figure is on track to top 2011’s total this year, with 5,609
Israelis
coming through July. Crowds — and clashes — are expected Sunday and
Monday for Sukkot.
While the numbers remain tiny compared with the 10
million annual
visitors to the Western Wall below, Palestinian officials say
what used
to be a trickle of individuals has given way to groups of 40, 60,
90.
They were particularly alarmed that the Israeli police commissioner told
a newspaper this month that “every Jew who wishes to pray at the Temple
Mount can pray on the Temple Mount,” though his subordinates said
afterward that did not change the police policy on the ground preventing
non-Muslim prayer. A recent visit by the right-wing housing minister
also stirred outrage.
“Before, it was some settlers from here, some
extremists from there; now
we start to hear it from the real officials,”
said Adnan Husseini, the
Palestinian governor of Jerusalem. “When they get
inside with this big
number, it’s sure that they will make some kind of
religious activities
and there will be more friction between them and the
people inside the
mosque.”
The Palestinians have complained to the
United Nations, the Arab League
and Secretary of State John Kerry, most
recently after Wednesday’s
clash, when the chief Palestinian negotiator
wrote to Mr. Kerry saying
the issue “could inflame the situation and
undermine the current
opportunity to move toward peace.”
Israel’s
chief rabbinate still maintains the Mount is off limits to Jews
— a sign
saying so is posted at the gate. But a senior Israeli official,
speaking on
the condition of anonymity, said the government supports “in
principle”
Jews’ rights to pray there, adding, “we’ve got to do it in a
measured way, a
sensitive way.”
As visiting the Mount has become more mainstream — one
Israeli newspaper
has since December 2011 devoted a full page weekly to news
and columns
about the site — the original hard core has been emboldened. A
group
formed last year calls for building a small synagogue on the plaza.
Yehuda Etzion, who was arrested in 1984 for plotting to blow up the Dome
of the Rock, and a team of architects are designing a “future Jerusalem”
plan with a new Temple at its heart. An activist group’s Web site
devoted to the Mount unveiled a virtual tour this summer with a Third
Temple where the Dome stands.
“We’re talking about something much
deeper than visiting the place,
we’re talking about a movement that wants to
change the status quo from
its roots,” said Yedidia Z. Stern, a vice
president of the Israel
Democracy Institute, an Orthodox Jew with liberal
leanings who has
watched the change with concern. “You’re dealing with the
ultimate TNT
in our national existence here.”
For Max Freidzon, the
Russian immigrant, visiting the site has become a
daily ritual: he stands
still several times on his stroll around the
Mount, and goes through the
morning prayers — including a plea to
rebuild the Temple — without moving
his lips.
“The situation is the same like it was in the Soviet Union,”
said Mr.
Freidzon, 46, citing the police escorts, the identification checks,
and
the ban on religious texts and on a minyan, the 10-person quorum
required for public communal prayer. “Step by step, the situation will
change. It’s necessary to pray here, and to make here minyan, and to
build here Temple.”
Said Ghazali, Tamir Elterman and Irit Pazner
Garshowitz contributed
reporting.
(3) Over 300 Jews ascend the Temple
Mount (Sept 18)
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/4898
9/18/2013,
8:50 AM
This week at the Temple Institute:
JEWS KEEP STREAMING TO
TEMPLE MOUNT: Police report that over 300 Jews
ascended the Temple Mount in
purity this morning. Jews were greeted at
the entrance to the ramp leading
up to the Temple Mount by volunteers
working for a new organization called
Mesamchei Olei Regalim, (The
Organization for Gladdening the Hearts of
Temple Pilgrims), who provided
all comers with food and drink. Jews waiting
to get through security
reported that the refreshments did, indeed, lift
their spirits as they
waited in the hot sun.
Organized groups arrived
from all over Israel, including contingents
from the cities of Karnei
Shomron, Petach Tikvah, Ra'anana, and Kiryat
Ata. A number of grooms about
to be married were among the pilgrims. In
spite of the anti-prayer policy
enforced (illegally) by the police, many
of the Jews were able to pray
unimpeded, as well as prostrate themselves
as per proper Jewish practice on
the Temple Mount.
(4) Temple Institute lobbies for building 3rd Jewish
Temple where Dome
of the Rock stands
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150360058899969&set=a.86889944968.20323.22738684968&type=1&theater
Rabbi
Chaim Richman is the international director of the Temple
Institute in
Jerusalem which is dedicated to rebuilding the Holy Temple
(Beit HaMikdash).
He is a member of the current effort to revive the
Sanhedrin and the author
of ten books including Mystery of the Red
Heifer and A House of Prayer for
All Nations. Yitzchak Reuven works at
the Temple Institute in Jerusalem. He
previously worked building
Biblical harps and other musical instruments for
use in the Holy Temple.
He and Rabbi Chaim Richman have been friends since
their Israeli army
days. They host the Temple Talk podcast dealing with
issues of the
Temple Mount and the weekly Torah parsha every Tuesday from
8:00 p.m. to
9:00 p.m. Israel time (1pm U.S. EST) on Israel National
Radio.
Full story:
http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Regev-calls-for-desperate-prayer-days-for-Jews-Muslims-on-Temple-Mount-326262
The
Jerusalem Post
"We will allow Jews to visit the Mount, and we don't want
to disturb
Muslims who are praying. Why doesn't the police decide that if
Muslims
don't allow Jews to visit without disturbances, we'll have days for
Jews
to access the Mount a... See More
(5) Palestinians inflamed by
Jewish campaign to replace Dome of the Rock
with a Jewish Temple
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/171783
Fatah
Declares War over Temple Mount: ‘Green Light’ on Terror
While Fatah head
Abbas talks to Israel, Fatah’s armed wing declares war
over Jewish visits to
the Temple Mount.
By Maayana Miskin
First Publish: 9/10/2013, 9:00
PM
While Fatah head and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas
negotiates with Israel for the creation of a PA state, Fatah’s armed
branch, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, has declared war.
The Brigade
issued a statement Tuesday announcing that it would give the
“green light”
to terrorist attacks targeting Israelis beginning on Friday.
The reason
given for the planned resumption of open hostilities was
Jewish visits to
the Temple Mount, which the group termed, “The invasion
of the compound by
hordes of settlers, and the harm to [Muslim]
worshipers, with no
intervention from the international community.”
Tensions have been high
on the Temple Mount in recent weeks, with many
Jewish visitors to the holy
site reporting harassment and violence at
the hands of groups of
Muslims.
The Temple Mount is the holiest place on earth according to
Judaism. The
site is currently run by the Muslim Wakf. Jews are allowed to
visit only
during limited hours, and are forbidden to pray on the
Mount.
Muslim leaders have denounced Jewish visits to the Temple Mount,
which
is also the site of the Al Aqsa Mosque, and have accused Israel and
Jews
of attempting to harm the mosque. PA leaders, including Abbas himself,
have made similar claims, insisting that Jews have no ties to the holy
site and that Israel is secretly plotting to replace the mosque with a
Jewish Temple.
Police responded to recent Muslim violence by closing
the Temple Mount
to Jews, a step commanders argued was necessary in order to
keep the peace.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade was responsible for several
mass-casualty
terrorist attacks during the wave of “Second Intifada” attacks
on
Israel. Among the attacks which its terrorists committed were a shooting
at a bat mitzvah – a traditional celebration for a 12-year-old Jewish
girl – which left six people dead, a bombing in the Beit Yisrael
neighborhood of Jerusalem targeting a group of women and children, which
left 11 dead, 7 of them children, and a bombing at the Tel Aviv Central
Bus Station that murdered 22.
(6) Fifteen Palestinians arrested as
Israel tries to take over the
Temple Mount
http://www.timesofisrael.com/7-arrested-as-palestinians-police-clash-on-Temple-mount/
15
arrested as Palestinians, police clash on Temple Mount
Security forces
stop 100 Muslim worshipers from accessing site for fear
of further
disturbances
BY TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF September 4, 2013, 12:55
pm
Fifteen Palestinians were arrested Wednesday morning, including seven
youths ahead of the Jewish New Year after they threw stones and clashed
with police on the Temple Mount. Police also stopped several buses
carrying some 100 Muslim worshipers from accessing the site on suspicion
that they intended to cause disturbances. There were no reports of
injuries.
Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch said that he
regards such
behavior with severity and will not let “radicals” disturb the
peace,
especially on the High Holidays.
“Lately, we’ve witnessed
efforts to incite [against Israel] from the
likes of [leader of the Northern
Branch of the Islamic Movement] Raed
Salah and others on the Temple Mount. I
see such behavior as very grave
and I will not let radical elements disturb
the peace, especially on
holiday days. Anyone who acts with intent to harm
will be arrested by
police,” said Aharonovitch.
Tensions have risen
around Jerusalem in the days leading up to the Rosh
Hashanah
holiday.
On Tuesday, Salah was arrested on charges of incitement stemming
from a
speech he gave in Kafr Qara last week in which he accused Israel of
trying to take over the Temple Mount and called on Muslims across Israel
to block Jews from entering. He was released Wednesday morning on
condition that he stay at least 30 kms away from Jerusalem for the next
180 days.
Salah was quoted as saying Israel was “working to destroy
Egypt and the
Arab world” and was responsible for a fire at Jerusalem’s
Al-Aqsa mosque
45 years ago set by a tourist.
Over the weekend,
Israeli security forces thwarted a plot to set off a
bomb at Mamilla Mall in
Jerusalem during the holiday. Two East Jerusalem
residents, reportedly
recruited by Hamas, confessed on Sunday to
planning the
attack.
Jerusalem District Police have beefed up security around the
city, with
thousands of police, Border Police and volunteer policemen
stationed
around the Old City and East Jerusalem. Security for tourist and
prayer
sites, synagogues and shopping malls was also heightened throughout
the
city.
(7) Extremist Israeli minister and settlers storm Al-Aqsa
Mosque
http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/7332-extremist-israeli-minister-and-settlers-storm-al-aqsa-mosque
Wednesday,
11 September 2013 18:18
A group of extremist Israeli settlers headed by
Israeli Housing Minister
Uri Ariel broke into the sanctuary yards of Al-Aqsa
Mosque on Thursday
morning.
Witnesses said that about 40 settlers
accompanied the minister when he
broke into the yards of the Mosque under
heavy military protection from
the Israeli police.
In a statement,
Wadi Al-Hilwa Information Centre said that they got into
the Mosque through
Al-Magharbeh Gate and left through Al-Silsileh Gate.
They wandered through
the Yards and some of them performed Talmudic rituals.
Placed under heavy
security measures, the statement said, Palestinian
worshipers could do
nothing except chant Allahu Akbar (God is Great).
Jewish organisations
gathering under the name of "The Coalition for the
Temple" have also
distributed ads calling for settlers to storm the
Mosque next Saturday. They
called upon the police to allow them entry to
the Mosque to celebrate the
Yom Kippur holiday.
Israeli police spokesman Yohanna Danino has announced
that Israeli
police have agreed to give permission for Jews to enter into
the Mosque
on Saturday, considering it a part of the so-called "Jewish
Temple". He
said, "That is an undisputed right for Jews."
Meanwhile,
Palestinian Minister of Awqaf in Gaza Ismail Redwan condemned
the Israeli
"desecration" of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. "This proves that the
Israelis are not
serious in peace talks with the Palestinians," he declared.
He also
called for the Arab, Islamic and international official bodies
to take
action to protect the third holiest place for the world's two
billion
Muslims.
(8) Rabbi Chaim Richman's "Judaism For Gentiles", "Light to the
Nations"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaim_Richman
Chaim
Richman is a rabbi in Israel, the International Director of the
Temple
Institute, which is dedicated to the rebuilding of the Holy
Temple in
Jerusalem, and a member of the current effort to revive the
Sanhedrin.[1]
He is known for his involvement in the effort to
produce a red heifer,
which is a requirement for the rebuilding of the
Temple.[2]
Rabbi Richman has a web television show, "Light to the
Nations", on
UniversalTorah.com, which explores the Jewish roots founded in
the Torah
and teaches people of the Jewish people's strong foundations in
the
Hebrew Bible.[3]
Richman has written two books "A House of Prayer
for All Nations: The
Holy Temple of Jerusalem"[4] and "The Holy Temple of
Jerusalem".[5]
References [edit source]
1.^ "Members of Reestablished
Sanhedrin Ascend Temple Mount", Israel
National News, January 20,
2005
2.^ Frontline documentary on the Red Heifer
3.^ Universal Torah
Network
4.^ "The Knesset Building in Giv'" , Knesset official site
5.^
"The Mystery of the Red Heifer: Divine Promise of Purity" , Rabbi
Chaim
Richman
Media coverage [edit source]
"Muslims solidifying Temple Mount
takeover" , World Net Daily,
February 18, 2007
"Judaism For Gentiles'
Spreads From The Church Without A Steeple" ,
Jerusalem Post, Fred Mogul,
April 28, 1992
External links [edit source]
The Temple
Institute
"Sanhedrin" website
This page was last modified on 9 June
2012 at 22:22.
(9) Dozens of Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa
Mosque
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/09/19/324771/dozens-of-israeli-settlers-storm-alaqsa-mosque/
Thu
Sep 19, 2013 1:47AM
Nel Burden, Press TV, al-Quds
Israeli settlers
have stepped up their attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque. In the
latest such
incident, dozens of settlers and American tourists stormed
the mosque while
the Israeli army prevented all Muslims from entering
their holy
site.
Dozens of extreme Israeli settlers have stormed the al-Aqsa mosque
compound in Jerusalem Al-Quds under the protection of the Israeli
army,
Dozens of settlers were taken on a so-called Jewish historical tour
of
the compound where they were given lectures of the history of the area
by a Jewish group claiming it was Temple Mount.
All Muslims were
prevented from entering their Islamic Holy Site by the
Israeli Authorities.
When they attempted to protest, the Israeli army
began shooting tear gas,
rubber coated steel bullets towards the crowd.
They then began beating men,
women and children with batons and sprayed
them with pepper
spray.
Hanna Issa further explained that the attacks against the mosque
have
increased since an Israeli Knesset decision permitted Israeli settlers
to enter the mosque to perform their Jewish prayers.
The Director of
the Centre for Defence of Liberties and Civil Rights
stated that this was a
planned attack.
Al-Aqsa mosque is Islam’s third holiest mosque and has
been the target
of repeated violations by Israeli settlers, who always
protected by the
Israeli police.
Jews refer to al Aqsa as the Temple
Mount, claiming that the mosque was
built over their ancient holy sites.
However following decades of
archeological digs they have never found a
trace of evidence.
The Israeli army has warned that they will step up
preparations for the
next Jewish holiday of Sukkot on 18th of September in
which the Israeli
authorities will ban all Muslims from entering the mosque
in order for
Jews to conduct their prayers.
(10) Jewish settlers
storm Al-Aqsa Mosque compound
http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=118001
Updating:
15:02, 15 September 2013 Sunday
World Bulletin/News Desk
Dozens of
Jewish settlers stormed on Sunday Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in
the holy city
of Jerusalem and performed rituals in the site,
eyewitnesses
said.
About 50 settlers and rabbis stormed the mosque complex, the
eyewitnesses told the Anadolu Agency.
Israeli police have stepped up
security at the compound entrances,
checking the IDs of the Palestinian
visiting youths, they added.
Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest
shrine, has recently been the
target of repeated violations by Jewish
settlers, angering Palestinian
Muslims.
Last week, Israeli Housing
Minister Uri Ariel entered the mosque
compound in the company of his
bodyguards and Israeli police officers.
One day later, scores of Jewish
settlers, backed by Israeli security
forces, stormed the compound and
performed Jewish prayers at the
religious site.
The Knesset (Israel's
parliament) had earlier called for opening the
compound to Jews on all
Jewish holidays.
Jews refer to Al-Aqsa as the "Temple Mount," claiming
the area had been
the site of two Jewish Temples in ancient
times.
They believe their messiah will not arrive until a third Temple is
built
on the site.
(11) Jewish settlers storm Aqsa Mosque compound
again
http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=118093
Updating:
16:36, 16 September 2013 Monday
Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest
site, has recently been target of
repeated violations by Jewish settlers,
distressing Palestinian Muslims
World Bulletin/News Desk
Scores of
Jewish settlers on Monday stormed the Aqsa Mosque compound in
the holy city
of Al-Quds (Jerusalem).
A total of 132 Jewish settlers, including 42
intelligence agents, toured
the compound while listening to lectures on the
history of the alleged
"Temple Mount," according to the Aqsa Foundation for
Endowment and Heritage.
Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site, has
recently been the target
of repeated violations by Jewish settlers,
distressing Palestinian Muslims.
Last week, Israeli Housing Minister Uri
Ariel entered the mosque
compound in the company of his bodyguards and
Israeli police officers.
One day later, scores of Jewish settlers –
backed by Israeli security
forces – stormed the compound and performed
Jewish prayers at the site.
The Knesset (Israel's parliament) had earlier
called for opening the
compound to Jews on all Jewish holidays.
Jews
refer to Al-Aqsa as the "Temple Mount," claiming the area had been
the site
of two Jewish Temples in ancient times.
They believe their messiah will
not arrive until a third Temple is built
on the site.
Meanwhile, the
Aqsa Foundation warned of attempts by Jewish groups to
storm the iconic
mosque during the Jewish holidays, which run from
September 8 to
25.
The foundation said that Jewish groups campaigning to build a Jewish
Temple on the site "are penetrating all segments of Israeli society to
propagate [the idea of] their alleged Temple Mount and to push for a
stepped-up Israeli presence at the mosque."
The Aqsa Foundation
called on Palestinians to intensify their presence
at the holy site in order
to counter "the methods being used by Temple
Mount groups."
(12)
Jewish settlers storm Aqsa Mosque again
http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=118212
17:08,
17 September 2013 Tuesday
Jewish settlers were backed by an Israeli
police "rapid-intervention"
force, which restricted the movement of
Palestinian students at the
site, said Abul Atta of Aqsa Foundation in
Jerusalem.
World Bulletin/News Desk
Dozens of Jewish settlers on
Tuesday stormed the Aqsa Mosque compound in
Jerusalem.
Around 40
settlers toured the compound while listening to lectures on
the history of
the so-called "Temple Mount," Mahmoud Abul Atta,
coordinator of the Aqsa
Foundation for Endowment and Heritage, said in
press
statements.
Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site, has recently been
the target
of repeated violations by Jewish settlers, distressing
Palestinian Muslims.
Jewish settlers were backed by an Israeli police
"rapid-intervention"
force, which restricted the movement of Palestinian
students at the
site, said Abul Atta.
Abul Atta called on Palestinian
Muslims to flock to the holy site to
prevent a possible bid by Jewish
fundamentalists to storm the site in
line with recent threats to this effect
by certain Israeli Rabbis.
The Knesset (Israel's parliament) had earlier
called for opening the
mosque compound to Jews on all Jewish
holidays.
Jews refer to Al-Aqsa as the "Temple Mount," claiming the area
had been
the site of two Jewish Temples in ancient times.
Israeli
police have stepped up preparations for the Jewish holiday of
Sukkot, he
added, which will be celebrated on Wednesday, 18 September.
(13) Israel
uses camera footage to incriminate al-Aqsa worshippers
http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=118518
Al-Aqsa
mosque has been the target of recent violations by Israeli
settlers almost
on a daily basis under the protection from Israeli
policemen and army
personnel
World Bulletin / News Desk
Updating: 11:59, 21 September
2013 Saturday
Israeli policemen and prosecutors use footage by cameras
fixed at the
gates of al-Aqsa Mosque as evidence for incriminating the
Palestinians
who enter the prayer house before and during raids by Jewish
settlers on
the mosque, a Palestinian lawyer told Anadolu
Agency.
Tahseen Obwany said Israeli police had to use footage by these
cameras
to incriminate Palestinians who were present during the
confrontations
that erupted at al-Aqsa mosque last Wednesday and
Thursday.
He said Israeli authorities had already used footage from
al-Aqsa mosque
cameras to arrest one of his clients at the Qalanda
checkpoint, south of
Ramallah, on charges of confronting Israeli
settlers.
People snapped by the cameras are not arrested immediately,
Obwany said,
but they are placed under watch from Israeli authorities for
some time
until necessary information is collected.
The lawyer
revealed that Israel had already deployed hundreds of cameras
around al-Aqsa
mosque and at its gates to monitor the movement of the
Palestinians
there.
Obwany said special Israeli teams also make footage of the
movement of
the Palestinians as Israeli settlers break into the mosque to
identify
those who counter Israeli settlers who storm the mosque.
No
Israeli officials were immediately available for comment.
Al-Aqsa mosque
has been the target of recent violations by Israeli
settlers almost on a
daily basis under the protection from Israeli
policemen and army
personnel.
Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage had earlier
warned against
what it described as an Israeli plan to divide the mosque
between
Muslims and Jews.
Muslims have fears that the scenario of
al-Haram al-Ibrahimi will be
implemented in al-Aqsa mosque, when Israel
divided the mosque between
Muslim and Jews following the killing of 29
Muslims by an Israeli
radical in 1994.
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