Israel installs new cameras at al-Aqsa compound

Israel has installed new security cameras at the entrance to a major Jerusalem mosque, Israeli media and witnesses said, the latest development in a controversy that triggered the bloodiest confrontations with the Palestinians in years.

Israeli border police officers stand guard near newly installed cameras at the entrance to the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City

Israeli border police officers stand guard near newly installed cameras at the entrance to the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City Source: AP

Video and still photographs show two new security cameras placed above Israeli metal detectors at Jerusalem old city's Lions Gate which leads to the Noble Sanctuary-Temple Mount compound.

Israel said on Sunday it would not remove the metal detectors whose installation outside the holy site triggered the violence, but could eventually reduce their use, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reportedly eyeing alternatives to the walk-through gates after two policemen were shot dead there on July 14.

The metal detectors have remained in place, although cameras had also been mounted near at least one entrance to the compound in Jerusalem's Old City in a possible indication of an alternative to the metal detectors.

Israeli Major General Yoav Mordechai -- head of COGAT, the defence ministry agency responsible for civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories -- had earlier signalled changes to the policy were possible.

"We are examining other options and alternatives that will ensure security," Mordechai said in an interview with Al-Jazeera.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said he would continue to support the metal detectors remaining in place unless police provide a satisfactory alternative.

The crisis has resonated internationally.

The UN Security Council will hold closed-door talks Monday about the spiralling violence after Egypt, France and Sweden sought a meeting to "urgently discuss how calls for de-escalation in Jerusalem can be supported".

Week of tensions

Tensions have risen throughout the past week over the metal detectors at the compound, which includes the revered Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, following the July 14 attack that killed two policemen.

Palestinians reject the metal detectors because they view the move as Israel asserting further control over the site. They have refused to enter the compound in protest and have prayed in the streets outside.

Israeli authorities say the July 14 attackers smuggled guns into the holy site and emerged from it to shoot the policemen.

Friday's main weekly Muslim prayers -- which typically draw thousands to Al-Aqsa -- brought the situation to a boil.

In anticipation of protests, Israel barred men under 50 from entering the Old City for prayers.

Clashes broke out between Israeli security forces and Palestinians around the Old City, in other parts of annexed east Jerusalem and in the West Bank, leaving three Palestinians dead.

On Friday evening, a Palestinian broke into a home in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank during a Sabbath dinner and stabbed four Israelis, killing three of them.
The Israeli army said the 19-year-old Palestinian had spoken in a Facebook post of the Jerusalem holy site and of dying as a martyr.

There were further clashes on Saturday, when Palestinian youths hurled stones and petrol bombs as the army used a bulldozer to close off the attacker's West Bank village and prepare his house for probable demolition.

Israel frequently razes or seals attackers' homes as a deterrent, although rights groups say this amounts to collective punishment.

Clashes also flared in east Jerusalem and other Palestinian villages in the West Bank near Jerusalem on Saturday, police said.

Two Palestinians died during the clashes, including one when a petrol bomb exploded prematurely.

Hamas arrests

Israeli security forces said Sunday they had arrested 25 men active in the militant Hamas group that rules the Gaza Strip.

The arrests throughout the West Bank included "senior members", a statement from the Shin Bet internal security agency said, and was part of preventive measures in the wake of "the tensions around the Temple Mount".

Also Sunday, a rocket fired at Israel from Gaza exploded mid-air, the Israeli army said, causing no injuries. No Palestinian group claimed responsibility for the rocket.

The holy site in Jerusalem has served as a rallying cry for Palestinians.

In 2000, then Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon's visit to the compound helped ignite the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, which lasted more than four years.

The Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount is central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

It is in east Jerusalem, seized by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed in a move never recognised by the international community.

It is considered the third holiest site in Islam and the most sacred for Jews.


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4 min read
Published 23 July 2017 6:55pm
Updated 23 July 2017 10:04pm
Source: AFP, AP


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