JERUSALEM: Israeli police escort a group of religious Jews into Al Aqsa compound amid Palestinian protests

Record ID: 579256

  • Title: JERUSALEM: Israeli police escort a group of religious Jews into Al Aqsa compound amid Palestinian protests
  • Date: 3rd October 2012
  • Summary: JERUSALEM (OCTOBER 2, 2012) (REUTERS) DOME OF THE ROCK AS SEEN FROM WESTERN WALL POLICE GUARDING AREA
  • Embargoed: 18th October 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Jerusalem
  • City:
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAAN38B1MKD8KMOE8L85KJ5XXPT
  • Story Text: A group of religious Jews visited Al Aqsa compound on Tuesday (October 2) amid angry scenes from local Palestinian worshippers. The small group of approximately 30 Jewish worshippers entered the compound under heavy police protection and were quickly surrounded by Palestinians, mainly women, who chanted 'God is Great' and 'By soul, by blood, we defend you Aqsa'.
    Amateur video obtained by Reuters television showed Israeli police and religious Jews arguing with Palestinian worshippers within the compound area. At least one Palestinian man was escorted out of the compound in handcuffs by Israeli police.
    Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld told Reuters television that one Jewish man within the authorised group prostrated himself on the ground in prayer, and was detained by Israeli police.
    Religious Jewish website "Arutz Sheva" quoted members of the group as saying they were attacked by Muslim worshippers as they toured the compound, and that Israeli police did nothing to protect them.
    Third holiest site for Islam, Al-Aqsa stands on Israeli-controlled land since Israel seized East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan in a 1967 war. Jews call the raised ground at the eastern edge of Jerusalem's Old City the Temple Mount, where Judaism's two Bible-era Temples once stood, the first destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC and the second levelled by the Romans in 70 AD. The Western Wall, the last remnant of the second structure, is one of the most sacred sites in Judaism.
    Many, but not all, Jews believe they are forbidden by ritual law to visit the Temple Mount out of fear they might tread on sacred ground where the faithful believe the Holy of Holies, which enshrined the Ark of the Covenant, once stood. Some Jewish religious groups, however, believe they are allowed to enter the holy site after going through a purification ritual. Israeli police escort the Jewish groups into Al Aqsa several times a year.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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