Clashes erupt in East Jerusalem

Published today (updated) 16/03/2010 14:07

Jerusalem - Ma'an -

Clashes erupted between Palestinian protesters and Israeli occupation forces and police forces across the occupied Palestinian territories on Tuesday morning, following a day of tensions over access to Al-Aqsa Mosque and building a synagogue beside Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Dozens of Palestinians were injured and many were detained in the ongoing confrontations. Two Israeli officers were also reported injured.

The violence was centered in occupied East Jerusalem and its environs, namely the Shufat refugee camp, Eisaweyah, Ras Al-Amoud, and Wadi Al-Jouz area of Silwan, as well as the Old City.

Hundreds of young Palestinians attacked a checkpoint at the entrance of the Shu'afat camp, north of Jerusalem, throwing stones at Israeli occupation forces stationed nearby, Ma'an's Jerusalem correspondent reported. He said special police forces were called to the scene and fired tear-gas canisters, stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets at the demonstrators. Two young Palestinians were detained, he added.

Israeli occupation forces tightened a blockade on the Old City, particularly the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, continuing a week-long trend. Police were seen preventing women from entering the mosque.

Police were also seen chasing protesters in Wadi Al-Joz while a helicopter hovered above. Young Palestinians lit fireworks in the Old City as Israeli forces moved in. Three were detained there, among them Iyad At-Tawil, 12, as well as his mother and aunt.

In Qalandiya refugee camp, north of the city, hundreds of students clashed with Israeli forces who fired rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades to disperse the demonstrators. A 15-year-old student was detained there, onlookers said. Clashes also erupted at the Qalandiya checkpoint, an Israeli security official said.

Palestinian citizens of Israel were prevented from visiting Jerusalem. Israeli forces stopped a bus arriving from Majd Al-Kroom, alleging that the passengers were en route to the demonstrations. They detained a 39-year-old man accused of striking a police officer.

Israeli occupation forces were filmed preventing journalists from covering the events in Eisaweyah, telling a live Al-Jazeera broadcast that the measures were for the reporters' own protection.

Meanwhile, rallies were held across the Gaza Strip in solidarity with Jerusalem.

Atara checkpoint violence injures soldier, 10 Palestinians

Published yesterday (updated) 16/03/2010 09:18

Bethlehem - Ma'an -

Several Palestinians were injured, along with an Israeli soldier after witnesses reported hearing heavy gunfire at the Atara checkpoint, near Ramallah, following its closure on Monday.

Later reports confirmed that dozens of Birzeit University Students students participated in a march against the Israeli attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and threw stones at soldiers.

An Israeli military spokesman said Israeli forces were responding with "riot dispersal mechanisms" against Palestinians in the area. He said there were "70 rioters," though witnesses several meters away from the scene reported no protests, demonstrations or riots.

Ten students were injured including three with live bullets, medics at the Ramallah Government Hospital said. One young man was hit in the jaw, and doctors said his condition was stable, while other injuries were described as light to moderate.

The governor of Ramallah Laila Ghanam visited the three injured students at the hospital and promised to cover the costs of treatment.

An Israeli spokesman said there was no live fire, though rubber coated metal bullets are considered part of the Israeli "dispersal" arsenal.

The military spokesman said one soldier was evacuated to hospital in Israel and four Palestinians were evacuated by the Palestine Red Crescent.

The Atara checkpoint was closed during the protest, causing long waits for travelers passing from the central to the northern West Bank.

Qrei'a fears Intifada if Israeli policy persists

Published yesterday (updated) 16/03/2010 11:56

Jerusalem – Ma'an –

PLO Executive Committee member Ahmad Qrei'a said Monday that if Israeli occupation government practices in East Jerusalem continues , a third uprising would ensue.

"If matters remain at this level, regardless of whether we take the decision or not, it [an intifada] is coming. If Israel continues these practices, it is coming," he told reporters during a news conference in his Abu Diss office in East Jerusalem.

An intifada, or uprising, he said, "is not a matter of official decision, but rather it arises from the culmination of oppression, injustice, aggression and tyranny. It is something the people decide. This is what happened with the two previous intifadas."

Qrei'a, who also heads the Jerusalem affairs department in the PLO, said successive Israeli governments have attempted to change the city's demographic nature, threatening Arab Muslim and Christian identity. Israeli policy is aimed at severing Jerusalem from negotiations and fully annexing the city to Israel, he added.

A synagogue's rededication ceremony on Tuesday, 300 meters away from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, is a "dangerous program" intent on "Judaizing" Jerusalem and falsify history, he said.

Moreover, Qrei'a spoke of unprecedented aggression and provocation faced by Palestinians, citing a recent leaflet distributed by right-wing Jewish groups calling on non-Jews to leave Jerusalem, as well as rumors of an Israeli take over of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Tuesday.

"Jerusalem is exposed to an unprecedented danger which targets its land, people, holy sites, heritage and history," Qrei'a said, adding that determining the fate of the city is paramount, without which a comprehensive solution cannot be attained.

Revealing a 1882 map of Jerusalem showing intended Israeli settlements, the PLO official said it proved the considerable risk faced by Palestinians in the city.

State Department: Mitchell may postpone visit

Published today (updated) 16/03/2010 11:38

Bethlehem - Ma'an -

The US State Department is waiting for a formal Israeli response to its concerns, declining comment on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks in support of settlements, Agence France-Presse reported Monday.

Netanyahu earlier in the day indicated that construction of Israeli settlements would continue in East Jerusalem, despite an angry phone call last week from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging him to stop, AFP said.

"When she outlined what she thought appropriate actions would be to the prime minister, she asked for a response by the Israeli government. We wait for the response," State Department spokesman reportedly Philip Crowley told reporters.

Crowley added: "We asked for a formal response from the Israeli government and when we get that response we'll react to it."

He also said US envoy George Mitchell may reschedule travel plans to the region, where he was expected to arrive this week.

"This is a fluid situation. As of this moment he's still in the United States," Crowley said, according to AFP.