BFF-30, 31 Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque reopens after two months amid tensions

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Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque reopens after two months amid tensions

JERUSALEM, May 31, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque
compound, Islam’s third holiest site, reopened Sunday after a more
than two-month-long coronavirus lockdown, but tensions marred the
event which came hours after a deadly police shooting.

Before dawn, worshipers in protective masks waited outside chanting
“God is greatest, we will protect Al-Aqsa with our soul and blood”,
before they were let in for the first prayers of the day.

Israeli soldiers were stationed at the gates to the site, which has
often been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and
police said eight arrests were made throughout the day.

A day earlier Israeli police shot dead a Palestinian disabled man in
annexed east Jerusalem, where the compound is located. They mistakenly
thought Iyad Khairi Hallak was armed and the killing prompted furious
condemnation.

The Palestinian leadership demanded that the shooter face the
International Criminal Court while the social media hashtags
#PalestinianLivesMatter and #Icantbreathe echoed anger in the United
States against police violence.

Eight Muslim residents were arrested by Israeli police Sunday at the
religious site for “disrupting general visits” and chanting
“nationalistic calls” against Jewish Israelis, said police spokesman
Micky Rosenfeld.

The Al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock had been closed in March as
part of measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, which has claimed
284 lives and infected more than 17,000 people in Israel.

Fewer than 500 infections and just three deaths have been confirmed
in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, which have a combined population
of around five million.

With the number of COVID-19 cases declining, restrictions have been
eased in both Israel and the Palestinian territories.

– Shooting sparks protests –

MORE/MRU/1930hrs

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As part of ongoing efforts to tackle the virus, worshipers’
temperatures were taken and staff distributed masks. Tape on the floor
inside the mosque and on the stones outside marked where people should
pray at a safe distance.

Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven from Al-Aqsa,
Islam’s third holiest site after Mecca and Medina.

The location is also the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as
the Temple Mount, the reputed location of two biblical temples, the
second of which was destroyed in 70 AD.

Saturday’s shooting happened nearby, in the alleys of the walled Old
City near Lions’ Gate, an access point mainly used by Palestinians.

Defence Minister Benny Gantz said he was sorry for the death of
32-year-old Hallak and certain “the incident will be investigated
swiftly” as police announced a probe.

“We will make every effort to use the appropriate amount of force,
with the goal of reducing the amount of casualties as much as
possible,” said Gantz, who is due to become prime minister in 18
months under an agreement with current premier Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hundreds of people protested on Saturday evening outside the
Jerusalem police headquarters and in Tel Aviv, carrying placards in
Hebrew reading “Police violence kills” and “Justice for Iyad”.

Earlier this month, scuffles broke out at Al-Aqsa between Israeli
police and Palestinians worshipers who tried to break through barriers
to enter the compound on the first day of the Eid holiday, which marks
the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Muslim leaders had asked worshipers to pray at home. At the time
Firas al-Qazzaz, whose family has led prayers at Al-Aqsa for more than
500 years, told AFP that “for me as a muezzin, when I say at the end
‘pray in your homes’, it breaks my heart.”

Known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, the site is under the
custodianship of neighbouring Jordan, which controlled the West Bank,
including east Jerusalem, up until occupation by Israel in the Six-Day
War of 1967.

There are fears of further violence if Israel takes advantage of a
controversial green light from US President Donald Trump to annex
swathes of the West Bank.

BSS/AFP/MRU/1930hrs