An Israeli security guard killed a Palestinian in an Arab area in Jerusalem,
| I wonder what the Palestinian had done to get himself killed. Israelis don't generally kill random strangers just for the fun of it. |
triggering clashes between police and rioters, including in the al-Aqsa mosque compound.
Police said they entered the plaza to push back Palestinians who had thrown rocks at the nearby Jewish prayer site the Western Wall.
| From above, which is where the al-Aqsa mosque is. The brave, brave Lions of Islam, dropping rocks on the heads of those praying below. |
The Palestinians withdrew into the armory mosque, Islam's third-holiest shrine, and there were no immediate reports of casualties or further confrontations, a spokesman said.
Palestinian officials said the killing of a 32-year-old resident of East Jerusalem and subsequent police response had undermined nascent US-sponsored peace negotiations.
| Which weren't going anywhere anyway ... |
Israeli authorities said the guard, who provided government-funded protection for a small Jewish settlement in the Silwan district, opened fire on dozens of Palestinians who had blocked and stoned his car before dawn.
| This is why we do not harass someone openly carrying a gun, ladies and gentlemen. Darwin wins again. |
"It was his life or theirs," said Ariel Rosenberg, spokesman for Israel's Construction and Housing Ministry.
| Stones can kill. No one in the MFM ever seems to remember that. |
Silwan residents took to the streets after the incident, overturning two cars, torching two others and throwing rocks at police and passersby. Police said they responded with teargas, water cannon and stun grenades.
At least seven Israeli civilians and a policeman were hurt in the clashes, police said. Silwan residents said two Palestinians were wounded in the initial shooting and more in later confrontations, but exact figures were not available.
Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral of the dead man, who had 5 children, and confrontations spread to the nearby Old City, where the al-Aqsa mosque abuts the Western Wall. |