Israeli police at the Aqsa Mosque complex in Jerusalem on Friday. Credit … Mahmoud Ilean / Associated Press
Jerusalem – The reasons for the recent clashes over a sacred place in Jerusalem depend on which country gives them.
For many Israelis, police raids on the Aqsa Mosque complex, known to Jews as Temple Mount, are a responsible act of law enforcement in a place sacred to both Muslims and Jews. The complex in the Old City is not only a mosque, but also the holiest place in Judaism, the site of an ancient temple.
For many Palestinians, however, the presence of Israeli police on the ground is an undesirable result of Israeli occupation, and confrontations with police there, no matter who starts them, are seen as a legitimate act of resistance against an occupying force.
Israeli authorities say they have been forced to intervene recently to contain riots caused by Palestinian rebels, which have endangered both Muslims and Jews.
They accuse Hamas, the Islamist group that dominates the Gaza Strip, of provoking the unrest. Hamas has issued statements in support of the stone-throwers, portraying them as defenders of the mosque and the Palestinian national cause.
Some clashes erupted last week after Palestinian youths blocked a route used by non-Muslims to visit the site and by Jewish worshipers to pray discreetly there. In the latest clash on Friday, Palestinian youths threw stones at a police station at the end of the complex, prompting police officers to enter, according to riot video.
Israel says police have acted to ensure free access to the site for everyone, including tourists. Israel views the mosque as part of its sovereign territory and considers it essential to maintain a constant security presence due to the very regular spasms of violence there.
During the 1967 Middle East War, Israeli forces captured the complex from Jordan, along with the rest of East Jerusalem. Israel later united East and West Jerusalem to create a single, unified capital, a claim now recognized by the United States.
But the UN Security Council often sees East Jerusalem as an occupied territory, an opinion shared by much of the world.
The Palestinians hope that East Jerusalem, including the Aqsa complex, will one day become the capital of a Palestinian state. Until then, many believed the site should be administered solely by Waqfa, an Islamic trust funded and monitored by neighboring Jordan.
To avoid unnecessary tension, Israeli authorities have allowed Waqf to lead civil and religious affairs at the site since 1967. For similar reasons, Israel has also established an informal protocol that allows Jews to visit but not pray at the site.
But for months, there has been growing evidence that Israel is changing this long-standing convention by allowing Jews to pray silently in the complex, under the protection of armed officers, despite Waqf protests.
This development has heightened Palestinian fears that Israel is gradually seeking to undermine Waqfa’s authority and restrict Muslim access to the site.
Attempts by Palestinians this week to block non-Muslims’ access to the site also followed rumors on social media that the Israeli government was preparing to allow hardline Jewish activists to make an Easter sacrifice in the mosque area.
But that did not happen, and instead Israeli police arrested several Jews who allegedly planned such a sacrifice.
Some Palestinians said the recent police facilitation of Jewish prayer in their place had left little faith in the Israeli authorities.
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