Prometheus 6

Protesters and Israeli Police Clash at Mosque
By GREG MYRE

JERUSALEM, Feb. 9 — Israeli troops charged onto the grounds of Jerusalem’s most contentious religious site today, firing tear gas and stun grenades at stone-throwing Palestinians who were protesting Israeli excavation work taking place just outside the hilltop shrine.

The confrontation took place immediately after midday prayers on the Muslim Sabbath. Palestinians have been protesting for four days against the digging next to the mosque compound, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.

The clashes today quickly spread to other parts of Jerusalem’s Old City and to streets nearby, as Palestinian youths who were barred from the compound hurled stones at the large contingent of Israeli police deployed in the city. Overall, 19 Israeli policemen and 17 Palestinian protesters were lightly injured, and 17 Palestinians were arrested.

Because of the holy site’s significance to Jews and Muslims, any dispute there has the potential to ignite a major conflict both in Jerusalem and in the wider region.

Israel says it is carrying out routine repair work that poses no threat to the mosque compound, and that Muslim extremists are trying to use it to manufacture a crisis.

But the Palestinians say they are worried that the mosque’s foundations could be harmed by the work, and other Muslim states have joined them in criticizing Israel over the issue.

With tensions running high, Israel ordered that men under 45 be barred from attending the Friday prayers at the mosques today. But some younger men did manage to get inside, and they emerged from the prayers chanting “God is great.”

They immediately headed toward the police and began throwing stones and bottles at the officers, who were just outside the gate of the compound. Some 200 officers then ran into the grounds, firing tear gas and stun grenades that sent up clouds of smoke.