Israel Lifts Restrictions On Entry to and from the Occupied West Bank; Security On High Alert
Israel has lifted the restrictions on entry to and from the occupied West Bank despite the persistent threat from Palestinian protesters, who had clashed with the police at the beginning of the week.
Israel’s step has come a day after disgruntled sections of Palestinian protesters burned tires during their protests and clashed with police forces in East Jerusalem. After which, the police had to fire tear gas to disperse them.
Citing security reasons, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak also gave the orders for lifting the ban on entry into the al-Aqsa mosque of Muslim men under 50 years of age and non-Muslims.
Israeli police spokesman said, “Access to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is now free for both Muslim worshipers and tourists.”
However, the relaxation does not mean that the security forces will rest in peace. To which, Rosenfeld said that a 3,000 police contingent would remain stationed across East Jerusalem and surrounding areas so that no untoward incident took place.
Security will remain on high alert especially as Hamas has pledged to seize control and avenge the occupation of their land by the forces of Israel. Hamas had declared Tuesday as a 'Day of Rage' as a mark of protest against the reopening of the Hurva synagogue in Jewish-dominated Old City of Jerusalem.
Al Jazeera quotes Hamas senior official Ahmad Yousuf, who is a former adviser to deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, as urging Palestinians for a non-violent uprising against "Israeli provocations."
Al Jazeera reports that Ahmad Yousuf said, "We are not talking about violence. We are talking about people's right to defend themselves. When the Israelis are committing all these crimes against Muslim's holy shrines, the people [are] called to go defend themselves, to defend their holy shrines. This can escalate, there will be more bloody clashes if the world community doesn't do anything to stop this craziness."
Earlier, the Israeli decision to include two West Bank religious sites on the national heritage list evoked criticism from the Palestinian quarters, thus provoking the Palestinian groups to launch protest rallies against Israeli forces.
It remains to be seen what impact the unrest has on the meeting of the Middle East diplomatic Quartet, which is to be held on Thursday in Moscow. The United States, Russia, the EU, and the UN form the Quartet.
There have been rumors that the US-Isreali relations have got sour over Israel’s settlement declaration; however, Hillary Clinton has clearly rejected these rumors. She said in Washington, "We have an absolute commitment to Israel's security. We have a close, unshakeable bond between the United States and Israel.”
