Then, in [East] Jerusalem two nights later

Following the clashes shpwn in the video in our previous post, Israeli forces made a number of arrests in East Jerusalem during the post-midnight to 5 am early hours on 29 May, , as Ma’an News Agency reported here

In the Old City:

“Twelve Palestinian teenagers and young men were arrested from their homes in the al-Sadiyeh neighborhood of Jerusalem’s Old City. Police broke the doors of several homes in the raids and stayed in the area until 5 a.m.   A Ma’an correspondent said police arrested 13-year-old Issa Mteb, Aboud al-Jabari, 16, Muhanad Eid, 17, Abdullah Abu Diab 18, Hamoudeh al-Baytouni, 19, Mohammad Halawani, 19, Alaa Makieh,19, Maher al-Baytouni, 20, Mahmud al-Khatib, 20, Mohammad Ghousheh, 21, Anas Afghani, 21, and Mahmud al-Tiryaki.   Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said some arrests were made in the last 24 hours but could not immediately say how many”.

In Eizariya [Bethany] + in Abu Dis:
Arrests were also made by Israeli forces in the early hours of the 29th in Eizariya and in Abu Dis, two suburbs of East Jerusalem which are now located on the “other” or [West Bank] side of The Wall being constructed [since 2003] by the Israeli Army to separate Palestinians from Israelis…

Continue reading Then, in [East] Jerusalem two nights later

After weeks of tensions and provocations – and predictions of trouble today – Israeli police enter Al-Aqsa Mosque COMPOUND

Tensions — and provocations — have risen for weeks.

Jordanian intervention recently defused a days-long sit-in by Muslims who heeded an earlier call, during the recent Jewish holidays, to come to defend Al-Aqsa against a reported call by Jewish settlers for their faithful to come to pray inside Al-Aqsa.  A group of about 200 Palestinians slept and prayed inside, while Israeli forces threatened to arrest them when they came outside.  Then, agreement was reached, and those inside departed quietly.

Today, after yet another call for the Muslim faithful to come to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque, next to the Dome of the Rock on the mosque plateau known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, the third most sacred site in Islam, the situation appears to be blowing up.

For days, it has been reported that preparations were being made (on both sides) in advance of a demonstration that was supposedly planned by Israeli “far-right extremists” to take place at Al-Aqsa on Sunday.

The feeling that there is incitement and provocation is inescapable — from elements on both sides.

Continue reading After weeks of tensions and provocations – and predictions of trouble today – Israeli police enter Al-Aqsa Mosque COMPOUND