MIDEAST-JERUSALEM/SHRINE Muslim worshippers, Israeli forces clash in Jerusalem shrine

Record ID: 863365

  • Title: MIDEAST-JERUSALEM/SHRINE Muslim worshippers, Israeli forces clash in Jerusalem shrine
  • Date: 5th November 2014
  • Summary: JERUSALEM (NOVEMBER 5, 2014) (REUTERS) ISRAELI POLICEMEN STANDING NEAR POLICE CARS ISRAELI POLICE PREPARING GEAR POLICEMAN WEARING RIOT GEAR VARIOUS OF MILITARY POLICEMEN GETTING DRESSED VARIOUS OF MILITARY POLICE ON SITE VIEW OF TOURISTS AND JEWISH WORSHIPPERS QUEUING UP TO ENTER AL-AQSA COMPOUND SOUND OF SHOOTING VIEW OF ISRAELI SOLDIERS RUNNING ALONGSIDE GOLDEN DOME OF AL-AQSA MOSQUE ON COMPOUND, AS SHOOTING SOUNDS MORE OF SHOOTING SOUND, VIEW OF DOME OF ROCK
  • Embargoed: 20th November 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Jerusalem
  • City:
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVACNOKD548Q37D6BWDSXMWM6H44
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Muslim worshippers and Israeli riot police clashed on Wednesday (November 5) on Jerusalem's al-Aqsa compound as Jewish worshippers attempted to enter the shrine, a flashpoint of recent violence.
    Israeli border police increased their presence near the entrance to the Al-Aqsa compound, revered in Islam and Judaism, as Jewish worshippers prepared to attempt to enter the compound to pray for the recovery of a right activist shot last week by a Palestinian gunman.
    Tensions have been high on the streets of East Jerusalem and around the Al-Aqsa compound for weeks, following the Gaza war and Israel's moves to expand settlement building in eastern areas of the city, which the Palestinians want for a capital of an independent state alongside Gaza and the West Bank.
    Al-Aqsa, which Jews refer to as Temple Mount, is a particularly sensitive issue. The 38-acre (15 hectares) compound houses the 7th century Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque, from where Mohammad is said to have ascended to heaven. It is the third holiest place in Islam.
    It was also home to two ancient Jewish temples, the second one destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, and is the holiest place in Judaism.
    Under the rules governing access to Al-Aqsa, which is administered by Jordanian religious authorities, Jews are allowed into the compound but are not permitted to pray.
    In recent years, there has been a push by far-right Jewish activists to be allowed to pray at the site, a campaign that has heightened tensions with the Muslim community.
    The leader of that campaign, an American-born activist called Yehuda Glick, was shot and seriously wounded last week by a suspected Palestinian gunman.
    Israeli police tracked the shooting suspect down to the Palestinian neighbourhood of Abu Tor, in the shadow of the Old City, last week and, after an exchange of gunfire, shot him dead, leading to fierce clashes on the streets of the district and fears among locals of another Palestinian uprising.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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