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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Over 100,000 hold Ramadan prayers on Temple Mount; security forces on alert |
| 2023-04-01 |
| [IsraelTimes] 52,000 Paleostinians cross into Israel from West Bank for the second Friday prayers of the Moslem holy month; some worshipers seen chanting in support of Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede, Security forces were on alert in Jerusalem and the West Bank as tens of thousands of Moslems took part in mass prayers on the second Friday of Ramadan, including at the flashpoint al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount. Border Police deployed 2,300 soldiers in Jerusalem and its surroundings and in the West Bank, the force said in a statement. According to official estimates, over 100,000 people took part in the prayers on the Temple Mount, including some 52,000 Paleostinians who entered Israel from the West Bank. The Moslem holy month, which began Thursday and will end April 21, often sees elevated Israeli-Paleostinian tensions, with frictions already high this year in Jerusalem and across the West Bank following months of deadly violence. While there were no reports of violence at the Old City holy site, videos showed Paleostinian worshipers chanting their support for shadowy Hamas military wing chief Muhammad Deif during morning prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque. For Paleostinian Moslems, worship at the mosque — the third-holiest site in Islam — is a central part of the festival. Jews revere the same site as the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism as the location of the ancient Temples. The military has eased some restrictions on movement for West Bank and Gazook Paleostinians to allow women, children and some men to pray there without permits. Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said the "relatively quiet" start to the holy month was owed to the professional work of security forces, after attending a security assessment with the Jerusalem District Police Commander Doron Turgeman at the Western Wall. "It is necessary to continue smart operational readiness, and preserve the existing situation in the field as much as possible," Shabtai said. Police said in a statement that there has been an uptick in incitement by terror organizations on social media, including efforts to falsely portray a danger to holy sites. Police vowed to maintain freedom of worship and tackle "any attempt to use the month of Ramadan or the holy places to disrupt order, incite or support terrorism." Earlier, Border Police head Amir Cohen toured the Tomb of the Patriarchs site in the West Bank city of Hebron and held a security assessment with senior officers responsible for the area. "There is an excellent connection between Border Police officers and the IDF’s soldiers in the regional division. Successful cooperation goes on throughout the year in all challenging incidents in the sector," he said. Cohen emphasized the role of the troops is to ensure freedom of worship for residents in the area, and said he expected personnel to act with "determination, professionalism and to a degree that is fitting to the situation." Also, Paleostinian media reported that Thursday night Israeli forces fired tear gas into a soccer pitch during a match of the Yasser Arafat Cup, at al-Ram Stadium in the West Bank, near Ramallah. According to the reports, at least three people were taken to a hospital in Ramallah for treatment, and the game was paused for over an hour. The Border Police said in a statement that the canisters were not aimed at the stadium, but were part of activities aimed at putting down disturbances and infiltration attempts nearby. Last Friday, prayers in Jerusalem passed without major incident, however, police detained one man suspected of incitement for hanging the banner of a terrorist organization at the complex. Some officials have warned that this Ramadan may be the most difficult to handle in years, as tensions remained high amid a cycle of deadly Israeli raids in the West Bank and deadly Paleostinian terror attacks, as well as an uptick in settler violence. Israel and the Paleostinian Authority have held two regional summits in the lead-up to Ramadan, where they committed to de-escalating tensions over the holy month. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #2 It’s on my wish list, Papa Cookie. But perhaps not during Ramadan, when the authorities need to concentrate. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2023-04-01 15:53 |
| #1 4 years ago, we were at the wailing wall on the first day of Ramadan We were carrying prayer papers for some of our friends in Florida. The soldiers kept a movable fence between the wailing wall and the entry to the Temple Mount. . After Prayers on the mount, the Muslims were ushered out with gates on each side of the passage. My wife and I walked down the narrow street along with the Muslims the women walked on one side and the men on the other. Very interesting day.. |
| Posted by: Papa Cookie 2023-04-01 15:27 |