„Iszlamista lázadók fordulat Templom-hegyen egy terrorgóc”

Israel deployed hundreds of police officers around the Old City of Jerusalem on Friday in an effort to beef up security as Palestinian leaders called for a „day of rage” to protest new, stiffer Israeli security measures.

Around 800 police officers were posted in the heart of the city and adjacent Arab neighborhoods, where tensions have been high for the past week, following violent clashes at Al-Aqsa mosque and stone-throwing and firebombing attacks by Palestinians at Israeli vehicles.

„The Israeli police have heightened security in and around Jerusalem and the Old City in order to prevent and respond to any incidents that could take place,” said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, adding that undercover units had been deployed.

In an effort to limit the threat of violence, Israel also banned access to Al-Aqsa for all men under 40 on Friday, the Muslim holy day. But rather than putting a cap on unrest, the restrictions risked further fueling anger and frustration.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan toured the flashpoints in Jerusalem on Friday, saying that the increased police presence was palpable.

„We will do everything in our power to maintain the peace as much as possible. The police will employ harsh measures against anyone who tries to disturb the peace or use violence,” he said. 

Erdan described the recent bout of violence in the capital as „terrorism.”

„I am gravely saddened by the incitement and the lies disseminated by the Palestinian Authority, chiefly by [Palestinian Authority President] Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli MKs,” he said.

„They have been inciting and lying about what is happening on the Temple Mount in recent days. Our intent is to protect the status quo on the mount.

„What we are seeing in recent days is how Islamist rioters, who are supposed to protect the sanctity of the Temple Mount as a place of prayer, are instead stockpiling explosives, rocks, pipes and essentially turning the compound into a terror depot. We will not agree to this. I call on Israel’s citizens to be alert because this wave of incidents could encourage lone-wolf terrorists.”

The tensions in the city were fueled by new measures soon to be introduced by Israeli authorities in an effort to generate deterrence in Jerusalem and squash the ongoing violence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to receive recommendations on new deterrence measures from the Shin Bet security agency, Israel Police and Attorney General’s Office on Sunday. The recommendations are expected to focus on new punitive measures against stone and firebomb throwers.

On Thursday, speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a new Israel Railways line between the southern cities of Ashkelon and Beersheba, Netanyahu said, „We have decided to change our policy and wage war against those who throw stones and firebombs, use firearms and riot. This will affect, first and foremost, the rules of engagement. A stone or a firebomb can kill, regardless of whether they are thrown inside or beyond the Green Line. There is no difference as far as the victim is concerned, and there is no difference as far as we are concerned.”

As part of the policy shift, the government is reviewing the use of snipers during riots, imposing long prison sentences on stone and firebomb throwers, and imposing hefty fines on the parents of minors who commit such offenses.

„In the State of Israel, people are not allowed to throw firebombs and stones simply because they feel like it, and those who do will be made to pay a heavy price,” Netanyahu said.

Commenting on the nature of the potential measures, already criticized as harsh and controversial, he said, „There is lively, ongoing debate on this issue, but the law must serve life, not the other way around.”

A senior police officer said Thursday that the police had delineated areas in the city where the violence posed potential risk to citizens’ lives in the event of clashes, and in those areas security forces would be permitted to use Ruger rifles to prevent loss of life.

The IDF is currently authorized to use the low-powered .22 Ruger, aimed at the lower body, in Judea and Samaria to contain violence, but the rules of engagement in Jerusalem are different. On Thursday, the attorney general approved the use of the Ruger by police against certain stone throwers in specific areas in and around Jerusalem.

One senior police officer called the rifle dangerous, adding that police are responsible for dispersing violence with non-lethal means.

Meanwhile Friday, Palestinian protests were planned in several cities across Judea and Samaria, including Ramallah, Hebron and Nablus, where a young man was shot by Israeli security forces after throwing a firebomb, the Israeli army and medics said.

There was a heavy police presence at Qalandia, the main checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah, which has become a focal point of demonstrations, with frequent clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israel security forces.

In east Jerusalem, the predominantly Arab side of the city, an Israeli municipal bus was attacked with stones, forcing the driver to flee, the police spokesman said. When police arrived at the scene, the bus had been torched.

In another incident, a bus driver was lightly wounded after his bus was stoned while traveling near the Palestinian village of Hizma, north of the capital. In addition, a small fire broke out at a military base next to Mount Scopus, after Molotov cocktails were hurled at it by unknown assailants from the nearby Issawiya neighborhood.

In recent weeks, a series of such attacks included one that led to the death of an Israeli driver in Jerusalem.

Israel this year increased prison terms for those caught throwing stones to up to 20 years, but the measure has had little to no impact.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has spoken to leaders in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in recent days to raise his concerns about Israel’s actions at Al-Aqsa, which he sees as an attempt to change the long-standing status quo at the site, where Jewish access is permitted but Jewish prayer banned.

Israeli officials in turn accuse Palestinian leaders of inciting violence against Jewish visitors and say the Palestinians themselves are not respecting the status quo by attempting to prevent access by non-Muslims.

Netanyahu spoke with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday afternoon and assured him that „Israel is taking action to counter violence on the Temple Mount, and contrary to Palestinian incitement, Israel is abiding by the status quo meticulously.”

Foreign Ministry Director General Dore Gold on Thursday denounced Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ recent statement alleging „Jews are defiling Al-Aqsa,” saying, „The world today is divided between those who try to undermine coexistence and those who try to protect it. With his statement Mahmoud Abbas has revealed which side he is on.”

A group of Likud youth activists visited the Temple Mount on Thursday, in protest against the recent violence in Jerusalem.

„This morning we visited the Western Wall and then we visited the Temple Mount, not as a provocation, but to say, ‘This is our country, and we are here to stay,'” a post on the group’s Facebook page said.

Meanwhile, the Jerusalem District Police and Border Police deployed large forces across the capital, as part of their efforts to apprehend individuals who participated in the riots that took place in Jerusalem over Rosh Hashanah. Eight suspects, six of them minors, have been arrested.

Also on Thursday, a 19-year-old resident of Issawiya, who was arrested during a riot in the capital, was indicted for rioting, aggravated assault, intentionally endangering human life, arson and assault on a policeman. Three minors, aged 13 to 15, from east Jerusalem, who had been arrested after hurling stones and firebombs at security forces, were indicted for attempted assault on a police officer.