MOSCOW, October 31 (RIA Novosti) – Israel has reopened the al-Aqsa mosque compound to Muslim worshippers after access to the Temple Mount, referred to as the Noble Sanctuary by Muslims, was temporarily closed on Thursday, AFP reports.
“It was decided to restore [the compound] to normal… effective immediately,” Luba Samri, an Israeli police spokeswoman, said, as quoted by the Times of Israel. The site, revered by Jews, Muslims and Christians, has been reopened ahead of weekly prayers to Muslim men over 50 and female worshipers of all ages. Samri explained this is a precaution amid fears of unrest.
Access to the site was closed after a Palestinian shot and injured a prominent right-wing activist Yehudah Glick, 48, late Wednesday. Several hours later, Muataz Hijazi, 32, a man suspected of attempting to assassinate Glick, was killed at his home by Israel’s anti-terrorist police. The incident sparked fresh riots in Jerusalem. Police had to use tear gas and stun grenades to disperse protesters outside Hijazi’s house, according to the Los Angeles Times. Jerusalem has been plagued by clashes between Israelis and Palestinians since July, when Israel launched Operation Protective Edge against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas condemned Israel’s decision to close the al-Aqsa mosque compound, adding that it amounted to a “declaration of war”, Reuters reports, citing Nabil abu Rudaineh, Abbas’ spokesman. “Harming the places sacred to Muslims and Christians is a red line,” Nabil abu Rudaineh said in a statement, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times. Abbas stressed that he would “not permit this line to be crossed.” Fatah, Palestine’s ruling party, has urged to hold a “day of rage” in response to the site’s closure and Hijazi’s fatal shooting.
Hayel Dawood, Jordan’s Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, has called the closing of the al-Aqsa compound “state terror”, according to the kingdom’s news agency Petra. Worshipers cannot be prohibited from praying at the site due to security concerns, or under any other pretext, the minister stressed.
The Temple Mount, administered by Jordan’s Islamic Waqf, was shut down for the first time since 1967 years, according to the New York Times. Israel’s police provide security to the compound and can prohibit worshipers from accessing the site, where the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are located.
