JERUSALEM: Israel yesterday ordered the first full closure of the Al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City in 14 years, in a move denounced by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as “tantamount to a declaration of war”.
The closure of the site, venerated by Muslims and Jews, came after anti-terrorist police shot dead a 32-year-old Palestinian man in the morning who was suspected of having tried to kill a far-right Jewish activist the night before. Muataz Hijazi, a former Palestinian prisoner and member of Islamic Jihad, was shot dead on the roof of his home in the neighbourhood of Abu Tor by anti-terrorist police just before 6am, as he hid behind solar panels.
In the aftermath of the shootings, Israeli security forces swamped the Old City and Palestinian neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem with extra reinforcements – some called in from the West Bank – as helicopters flew overhead and observation balloons were deployed in several locations.
The Al Aqsa compound, or Temple Mount, which has become a central point in the escalating violence in the city in recent months, was closed to all visitors as a security precaution. Israeli police said the mosque would reopen after midnight, for dawn prayers. “It was decided to restore (the compound) to normal,” police spokeswoman Luba Samri said, adding that because of a fear of unrest at Friday prayers, entry for Muslim men would be restricted to those above 50. The compound houses Islam’s third holiest site. In a further escalation of the rhetoric around the site, Abbas’s Fatah movement called for a “day of rage” today. Addressing a security meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to call for calm. The Guardian
