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Jordanians protest against Israel at funeral of shot teenager

People attend the funeral of Mohammad Jawawdah in Amman, Jordan July 25, 2017. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

AMMAN (Reuters) – Several thousand Jordanians urged their government on Tuesday to close the Israeli Embassy in Amman and scrap an unpopular peace treaty during the funeral of a young Jordanian shot dead by an Israeli security guard in the embassy.

Dozens of demonstrators chanted “No to an Israeli Embassy or ambassador on Jordanian land!”, and called for a jihad – or holy war – as they carried the coffin of Mohammad Jawawdah, 16, to his burial place in a cemetery in the capital.

Jordanian police said on Monday that Jawawdah, who worked in a furniture firm, had got into a brawl with the Israeli security guard after entering the fortress-like compound of the embassy on Sunday to deliver an order.

They said the Israeli security guard had fired on Jawawdah after the young man attacked him, but did not confirm Israel’s account that he had used a screwdriver to stab the guard in what Israeli officials described as a “terrorist attack”.

Israel said the security officer had acted in self-defense when he shot Jawawdah while his father said the young teenager had no militant links.

The staff of Israel’s Embassy in Jordan, including the security guard involved in the shooting incident, returned to Israel from Amman on Monday.

Responding to public anger that the security guard was able to leave Jordan, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the Israeli had been protected by diplomatic immunity, but he vowed to “get justice” for the victims of what he called a “criminal attack”.

“The government had insisted that the person who committed the crime should not leave”, Safadi said, adding that the Israeli security guard left the country only after the authorities got his testimony to pursue a legal case against him.

“The government acted in a way to ensure the rights of Jordanian citizens,” Safadi said denying any secret deal that allowed his departure.

The main political opposition, the Muslim Brotherhood, blasted the authorities for handing over the security guard in what it said was an affront to national sovereignty.

“The Jordanian people were shocked by the death of two Jordanians in cold blood and instead of the government doing its duty toward its citizens, we were appalled by its protection of the killer and returning him without punishment,” the mainstream Islamist group said in a statement

“CLOSE COOPERATION”

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked U.S. President Donald Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner for helping to bring the embassy staff home as well as Jordan’s King Abdullah “for our close cooperation”.

Israeli media showed a smiling Netanyahu embracing the security guard after meeting him on Tuesday. He said his government had a “commitment to get you out, that was never a question”.

“You represent the state of Israel and Israel doesn’t forget that for a moment”, Netanyahu added.

Jordan’s peace accord with Israel, the second to be concluded with Israel by an Arab country after Egypt, is unpopular with many Jordanians, many of whom are of Palestinian origin.

Israeli-Jordanian tensions have escalated since Israel installed metal detectors at entry points to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City after two police guards were shot dead by gunmen there on July 14.

The kingdom has seen an outpouring of public anger against Israel in recent days over the Al-Aqsa situation, with thousands of Jordanians demonstrating last Friday against Israel in protests in Amman and in cities and refugee camps across Jordan.

Israel removed the metal detectors on Tuesday in favor of CCTV cameras, hoping to calm days of bloodshed, but Palestinians said the modified security measures were still unacceptable.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; editing by Gareth Jones and G Crosse)

Israel removes Jerusalem metal detectors, Palestinians reject new measures

Israeli security forces remove metal detectors which were recently installed at an entrance to the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City July 25, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

By Ori Lewis

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel removed metal detectors from entrances to the Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City on Tuesday in favour of CCTV cameras, hoping to calm days of bloodshed, but Palestinians said the modified security measures were still unacceptable.

Israel installed the detectors at entry points to Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem after two police guards were fatally shot on July 14, setting off the bloodiest clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in years.

The spike in tensions and the deaths of three Israelis and four Palestinians in violence on Friday and Saturday raised international alarm and prompted a session of the United Nations Security Council to consider ways of defusing the crisis.

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and the senior Muslim cleric who oversees Al-Aqsa compound both turned down the new Israeli measures and demanded all of them be removed.

“We reject all obstacles that hinder freedom of worship and we demand the return to the situation where things stood before July 14,” Hamdallah told his cabinet in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The Waqf, the religious body that runs the Islamic sites in the Al-Aqsa compound, said worshippers would continue to stay away from the elevated, marble-and-stone plaza and pray in the streets outside.

A Waqf spokesman said it was awaiting a decision of a technical committee but was demanding the situation revert to the way it was before July 14, when the metal detectors were installed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet of senior ministers voted to remove the metal detector gates early on Tuesday after a meeting lasting several hours.

David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said while visiting Israel’s parliament that Washington had talks with Israel and Jordan to resolve the crisis.

“(There was) a lot of hard work behind the scenes, discussions by senior officials in the United States, and of course, with the prime minister and with the king of Jordan, (and) we were able to defuse the situation very quickly that obviously, under other circumstances, could have not ended as successfully,” Friedman said.

NEW CCTV CAMERAS

A statement issued after the security cabinet meeting said it had decided to heed a recommendation of Israeli security bodies and replace the detectors with “smart checking” devices.

In the pre-dawn hours, municipal workers began work in some of the narrow stone-paved streets around the Aqsa compound to install overhead metal beams that will hold closed-circuit TV cameras. Israeli media said there were plans to invest in advanced camera systems.

The cabinet statement added that it had allocated up to 100 million shekels ($28 million) for the equipment and for additional policing over the next six months.

CCTV images indicated that the two Israeli police officers on guard duty were shot dead by three Israeli Arabs who had concealed weapons inside the Aqsa compound, Islam’s third most sacred site.

The dispute, like many in the Holy Land, is about much more than security devices, taking in issues of sovereignty, religious freedom, occupation and Palestinian nationalism.

The walled Old City is part of East Jerusalem that Israel captured from Jordan in a 1967 war and later annexed, declaring the city its “eternal indivisible capital” in a move not recognised internationally. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem for the capital of a future state they are seeking.

The decision to remove the metal detector gates was an about-turn after the rightist Netanyahu, wary of being seen to capitulate to Palestinian pressure, pledged on Sunday that the devices would stay put.

But on top of the outbreak of violence mainly in the Jerusalem area, a move on Friday by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to suspend security coordination , plus international criticism, cranked up pressure on Israel.

Netanyahu was further hampered by a fatal shooting at the Israeli Embassy in Jordan on Sunday when an Israeli security guard was attacked and shot dead two Jordanians.

Jordan is the custodian of Jerusalem’s Muslim holy sites, which Jews revere as the vestige of their two ancient temples. Jordan’s King Abdullah has called on Israel to return to the pre-July 14 status quo and lift all unilateral measures taken since the attack on the policemen.

Jews and anyone else visiting the Western Wall – the holiest site where Jews are permitted to pray – at the foot of the Aqsa compound must pass through airport-style security screening, including metal detectors.

(Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta, and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; writing by Ori Lewis; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Israel says Jerusalem mosque metal detectors to stay

Palestinians stand in front of Israeli policemen and newly installed metal detectors at an entrance to the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City July 16, 2017.

By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel said on Sunday it would not remove metal detectors whose installation outside a major Jerusalem mosque has triggered the bloodiest clashes with the Palestinians in years, but could eventually reduce their use.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security Cabinet on Sunday evening. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he would halt security ties with Israel until it scraps the walk-through gates installed at entrances to Al-Aqsa mosque plaza after two police guards were shot dead on July 14.

Netanyahu’s right-wing government is wary of being seen to yield to Palestinian pressure over the site, which Jews revere as the vestige of their two ancient temples. It was among areas of East Jerusalem that Israel captured in a 1967 war and annexed as its capital, in a move not recognized internationally.

“They (metal detectors) will remain. The murderers will never tell us how to search the murderers,” Tzachi Hanegbi, Israeli minister for regional development, told Army Radio.

“If they (Palestinians) do not want to enter the mosque, then let them not enter the mosque.”

Incensed at what they perceive as a violation of delicate decades-old access arrangements at Islam’s third-holiest site, many Palestinians have refused to go through the metal detectors, holding street prayers and often violent protests.

Reuters witnesses reported some light clashes between Muslim worshippers and Israeli security forces after prayers at the entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday night. Palestinian medical sources did not report any serious injuries.

The spike in tensions, and the deaths of three Israelis and four Palestinians in violence on Friday and Saturday, have triggered international alarm and prompted the United Nations Security Council to convene a meeting for Monday to seek ways of calming the situation.

Washington sent Jason Greenblatt, President Donald Trump’s special representative for international negotiations, to Israel on Sunday evening in hopes of helping to reduce tensions, a senior administration official said.

“President Trump and his administration are closely following unfolding events in the region,” the official said. “The United States utterly condemns the recent terrorist violence.”

Two Jordanians were killed and an Israeli was wounded in a shooting incident on Sunday in a building inside the Israeli embassy complex in Jordan’s capital, Amman, police and a security source said.

Details of what happened were unclear. Israel imposed a ban on reporting the incident and made no public comment.

Jordan has seen an outpouring of public anger against Israel in recent days, with Jordanian officials calling on it to remove the metal detectors at the Al-Aqsa mosque.

ABBAS ULTIMATUM

The spasm of violence began on Friday, when Israeli security forces shot three demonstrators dead, Palestinian medics said. Israeli police said they were investigating the charge.

On the same day, a Palestinian stabbed three Israelis in the occupied West Bank after vowing on Facebook to take up his knife and heed “Al-Aqsa’s call”.

A Palestinian was killed in the Jerusalem area on Saturday when an explosive device he was building went off prematurely, the Israeli military said. Palestinian medics said he died of shrapnel wounds to the chest and abdomen.

On Sunday, a rocket was launched into Israel from the Gaza Strip, but hit an open area, causing no damage, Israel’s military said.

Abbas, referring to the metal detectors in a speech on Sunday, said: “If Israel wants security coordination to be resumed, they have to withdraw those measures.

“They should know that they will eventually lose, because we have been making it our solemn duty to keep up security on our side here and on theirs.”

Gilad Erdan, Israel’s public security minister, warned of potential “large-scale volatility” – a prospect made more likely in the West Bank by the absence of Abbas’ help.

Erdan said Israel may eventually do away with metal-detector checks for Muslims entering the Al-Aqsa compounds under alternative arrangements under review. Such arrangements could include reinforcing Israeli police at the entrances and introducing CCTV cameras with facial-recognition technologies.

“There are, after all, many worshippers whom the police know, regulars, and very elderly people and so on, and it recommended that we avoid putting all of these through metal detectors,” Erdan told Army Radio, suggesting that only potential troublemakers might be subjected to extra screening.

Any such substitute arrangement was not ready, he added.

The Muslim authorities that oversee Al-Aqsa said, however, they would continue to oppose any new Israeli-imposed measures.

“We stress our absolute rejection of … all measures by the Occupation (Israel) that would change the historical and religious status in Jerusalem and its sacred sites,” the Palestinian grand mufti, acting Palestinian chief justice and Jordanian-run Waqf religious trust said in a joint statement.

Turkey also urged the removal of the metal detectors and the Arab League said Israel was “playing with fire”.

(Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta and Nidal al-Mughrabi and Roberta Rampton in Washington; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Peter Cooney)

What’s the issue with metal detectors in Jerusalem?

By Miriam Berger

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – For 10 days, Jerusalem has been in the grip of the worst bloodshed for years over Israel’s decision to install metal detectors at the entrance to the Old City’s holy compound.

Some readers and observers have wondered how a simple matter of metal detectors – so common in so much of the world – could provoke such violence: a Palestinian man stabbed to death three members of an Israeli family in their home and three Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli forces in clashes.

But as with anything connected to politics and religion in the Holy Land, the dispute is about much more than the security devices themselves, touching on issues of sovereignty, religious freedom, occupation and Palestinian nationalism.

Here are some answers to questions on the issue.

WHY, WHERE AND WHEN WERE THE METAL DETECTORS INSTALLED?

Israel put the devices in place on July 16, two days after two Israeli policemen were shot and killed by Israeli-Arab attackers who had concealed weapons in the compound in the heart of the Old City. It is known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, where the Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are located, and to Jews as Temple Mount, the holiest place in Judaism, where ancient temples once stood.

The detectors were put up at the entrances Muslims use to enter the compound each day for prayers. Non-Muslims are allowed to visit the area as tourists and they enter through a separate gate where metal detectors have long been used.

WHY ARE PALESTINIANS SO ANGRY ABOUT THE MOVE?

The first issue is consultation. The Palestinians say they were not informed by the Israelis about the detectors. Israel says it informed Jordan, the custodian of the holy site. Either way, the measures were imposed rapidly and had an immediate impact on Palestinians, even though Israeli-Arabs carried out the attack that prompted the installation.

Israel captured East Jerusalem, including the Old City, in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed them, a move not recognized internationally. As a result, it is to this day seen by much of the world as an occupier, and the status of the area is regarded as disputed until resolved via negotiations. Hence the Palestinians reject Israel’s authority, its heavy security presence and the unilateral move on metal detectors.

But the dispute goes deeper. For centuries, a delicate status quo has existed at the Noble Santuary-Temple Mount whereby Jews and Christians can visit, but only Muslims are allowed to pray. When Israel captured the area, it committed itself to that agreement. Yet many Palestinians are upset that more and more religious-nationalist Jews visit the compound each day, with some attempting to pray. They are usually ejected by Israeli police, but Palestinians feel the status quo is changing. The installation of metal detectors has contributed to the impression that Israel is changing the rules, a view rejected by the Israeli government.

WHAT ARE THE POLITICIANS DOING?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under pressure internationally to back down and remove the metal detectors, but he has resisted those calls, saying security is paramount. He is meeting senior cabinet members to examine a way forward, with signs that alternatives, such as face-recognition cameras or selective searches, might be proposed. The problem is any Israeli-led initiative is likely to be rejected by the Palestinians and possibly Jordan. So the United Nations, the United States, Europe and Russia may get involved. U.S. President Donald Trump’s regional go-between, Jason Greenblatt, is scheduled to return to the region on Monday.

On the Palestinian side, tempers are frayed. “Sovereignty over the blessed mosque is for us,” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a speech last week. “We are the ones who should be monitoring and standing at its gates.”

Abbas has broken off security coordination with Israel, a significant move since Palestinian and Israeli forces work together daily on security in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Palestinians have limited self-rule.

WHAT ARE THE PEOPLE SAYING?

Israelis are wondering what all the fuss is about, commenting on Facebook and Twitter about how metal detectors are normal everywhere in the world and pointing out that Jews have to pass through them to get to the Western Wall, the holiest place where they are permitted to pray.

Palestinians see it very differently. The Noble Sanctuary has become a symbol of national aspiration, with the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque painted on murals all over Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The area, a large stone and marble plaza lined with Cypress trees is one of a few open spaces for Muslims in the Old City, used for celebrations and gatherings.

“Our problem is not just the gates, our problem is the Israeli occupation,” said Walid Alhawany, 48, a shopkeeper in the Old City. “Al Aqsa Mosque is not a place where you put security gates and you feel like it’s an Israeli institution.”

(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Luke Baker and Louise Ireland)

Israeli forces raid home of Palestinian attacker, arrest brother

Medics evacuate an Israeli woman who was injured during a knife attack in the Jewish settlement of Neve Tsuf at the West Bank, at a hospital in Jerusalem July 21, 2017. REUTERS/Emil Salman

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli security forces on Saturday raided the home of the Palestinian attacker who stabbed to death three Israelis and restricted movement for Palestinians from his West Bank village, the military said.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said security forces “surveyed the house of the assailant in the village of Khobar, searched for weapons and confiscated money used for terror purposes. The brother of the assailant was also apprehended.”

“Movement out of the village will be limited to humanitarian cases only,” she said.

Six people died on Friday in the bloodiest spate of Israeli-Palestinian violence for years.

Three Israelis were stabbed to death in a Jewish settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, hours after three Palestinians were killed in violence prompted by Israel’s installation of metal detectors at entry points to the Noble Sanctuary-Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem’s walled Old City.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ordered the suspension of all official contact with Israel until it removed the metal detectors at the site, where Muslims pray at al-Aqsa mosque.

He gave no details, but current contacts are largely limited to security cooperation.

The three Israelis stabbed to death and a fourth who was wounded were from the fenced-in West Bank settlement of Neve Tsuf. The attacker, 20-year-old Omar Alabed, was shot and taken to a hospital for treatment, the military said.

Alabed posted a note on Facebook prior to the attack, writing: “I am going there and I know I am not going to come back here, I will go to heaven. How sweet death is for the sake of God, his prophet and for Al-Aqsa mosque.”

Palestinian worshippers had clashed with Israeli security forces before Friday’s attack. Tensions had mounted for days as Palestinians hurled rocks and Israeli police used stun grenades after the detectors were placed outside the sacred venue, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said three Palestinians died of gunshot wounds in two neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, some distance away from the epicenter of tension. It later reported a third Palestinian fatality

Israel decided to install the metal detectors at the entry point to the shrine in Jerusalem on Sunday, after the killing of two Israeli policemen on July 14.

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch and Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ali Sawafta,; Editing by Edmund Blair)

Muslim protesters clash with police in central Jerusalem

Palestinians react following tear gas that was shot by Israeli forces after Friday prayer on a street outside Jerusalem's Old city July 21, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

By Luke Baker and Ori Lewis

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli police tightened security around Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday as Muslims protested against its installation of metal detectors at a flashpoint shrine holy to both Jews and Muslims.

There have been daily confrontations between Palestinians hurling rocks and Israeli police using stun grenades since the detectors were placed at the entrance to the shrine on Sunday, after the killing of two Israeli policemen.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet decided on Thursday night to keep the detectors in place.

In protest, hundreds of worshippers gathered at various entrances to the compound, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, before Friday prayers, but refused to enter, preferring to pray outside.

“We reject Israeli restrictions at the Aqsa Mosque,” said Jerusalem’s senior Muslim cleric, Grand Mufti Mohammad Hussein.

Muslim leaders and Palestinian political factions had urged the faithful to gather for a “day of rage” on Friday against the new security policies, which they see as changing delicate agreements that have governed the holy site for decades.

But by early afternoon, with police mobilizing extra units and placing barriers to carry out checks at entrances to the Old City, there had been little violence.

Access to the shrine for Muslims was limited to men over 50 as well as women of all ages. Roadblocks were in place on approach roads to Jerusalem to stop buses carrying Muslims to the site.

At one location near the Old City, stone throwers did try to break through a police line, and police used stun grenades.

The Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance service said at least 30 people had been hurt, two seriously and some suffered from tear gas inhalation.

Ahmad Abdul Salaam, a local businessman who came to pray outside the Noble Sanctuary said: “Putting these metal detectors at the entrance to our place of worship is like putting them at the entrance to our house. Are you really going to put me through a metal detector as I go into my house?”

The hill-top compound, which contains the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, has long been a source of religious friction. Since Israel captured and annexed the Old City, including the compound, in the 1967 Middle East war, it has also become a symbol of Palestinian nationalism.

“This is our place of prayer, we have sovereignty here,” Salaam added.

SECURITY CABINET DECISION

On Thursday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called Israeli President Reuven Rivlin to press for the removal of the metal detectors.

Nickolay Mladenov, the United Nations’ special coordinator for long-stalled Israel-Palestinian peace talks, appealed for calm and the White House urged a resolution. Jordan, which is the ultimate custodian of the holy site, has also been involved in mediation efforts.

But Netanyahu’s 11-member security cabinet decided in a late-night meeting to keep the metal detectors in place to ensure no weapons were smuggled in, a week after three Arab-Israeli gunmen shot dead two Israeli policemen in the vicinity of the complex.

Far-right members of Netanyahu’s government – which relies on religious and right-wing parties for support – had publicly urged him to keep the devices in place.

“Israel is committed to maintaining the status quo at the Temple Mount and the freedom of access to the holy places,” the security cabinet said in a statement.

“The cabinet has authorized the police to take any decision in order to ensure free access to the holy places while maintaining security and public order.”

As well as anger at having to submit to Israeli security policies, Palestinians are alarmed at what they see as a slow chipping away at the status quo at the Noble Sanctuary.

Since Ottoman times, while Jews are permitted to visit the area – considered the holiest place in Judaism, where an ancient temple once stood – only Muslims are allowed to pray there.

Over the past decade, however, visits by religious-nationalist Jews have increased sharply and some attempt to pray. While police are supposed to eject them if they do, the rules are not always enforced, fuelling Muslim anger.

In 2000, a visit by then-Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon triggered clashes that spiraled into the second Intifada, or uprising, when an estimated 1,000 Israelis and 3,000 Palestinians were killed in four years of violence.

(Writing by Luke Baker and Ori Lewis; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Israel faces mounting Palestinian anger over holy site metal detectors

Palestinians shout slogans during a protest over Israel's new security measures at the compound housing al-Aqsa mosque, known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

By Jeffrey Heller

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is weighing whether to remove metal detectors at a Jerusalem holy site whose installation after a deadly attack last week has stoked Palestinian protests, an Israeli cabinet minister said on Thursday.

There have been nightly confrontations between Palestinians hurling rocks and Israeli police using stun grenades in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem since the devices were placed on Sunday at entrances to the Temple Mount-Noble Sanctuary compound.

Tensions remain high ahead of Friday prayers when thousands of Muslims usually flock to al-Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrine, in the compound above Judaism’s sacred Western Wall.

Muslim religious authorities, who say the metal detectors violate a delicate agreement on worship and security arrangements at the site, have been urging Palestinians not to pass through, and prayers have been held near an entrance to the complex.

Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Hamas Islamist movement that rules Gaza, called on Palestinian demonstrators to confront Israeli troops along the enclave’s border on Friday in protest at the Israeli measure.

Netanyahu was due to hold security consultations over the issue, and likely decide on a course of action, on his return to Israel later in the day from visits to France and Hungary, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said.

Far-right members of Netanyahu’s government have publicly urged him to keep the devices in place at the flashpoint site, but Israeli media reports said security chiefs were divided over the issue amid concerns of wider protests in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

“The prime minister is considering whether to change this decision, and that’s his prerogative,” Erdan said on Army Radio. He described the equipment as a legitimate security measure.

Last Friday, three Arab-Israeli gunmen shot dead two Israeli policemen outside the Temple Mount-Noble Sanctuary complex in one of the most serious attacks in the area in years. The assailants were killed by security forces.

Israel briefly closed the compound, holy to Jews as the site of biblical temples, and install the metal detectors which it said were commonplace at religious sites worldwide.

Israel captured East Jerusalem, along with the West Bank, in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians seek to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Israel considers all of Jerusalem its capital, a claim that is not recognized internationally.

(Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Israeli ‘counter-terrorism boot camp’ a tourist attraction in occupied West Bank

A group of tourists take part in a two hour "boot camp" experience, at "Caliber 3 Israeli Counter Terror and Security Academy" in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank July 13, 2017. REUTERS/Nir Elias

By Ori Lewis

GUSH ETZION SETTLEMENT, West Bank (Reuters) – Taking in the scene of a simulated fruit market in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, a group of tourists ponders whether a poster-size figure of an Arab man holding a cellphone is a threat and should be shot.

The aim of the mock scenario is to teach rapt foreign visitors how to deal with an attack on a market. It is part of a counter-terrorism “boot camp” organized by Caliber 3, a company set up by a colonel in the Israeli army reserves.

Entrance to the gated compound in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc – built on land the Palestinians want for their own state – costs $115 for adults and $85 for children.

Admission includes watching former Israeli commandos take down an “attacker” and other means to thwart assaults, including the use of an attack dog. Adults can shoot live rounds at a firing range.

While most of those signing up are American visitors, there have also been tourists from China, Japan, India and South America, keen to experience Israeli-style security training in an attraction condemned by the Palestinian mayor of the nearby town and an anti-settlement group.

The facility opened in 2003, running courses for security guards during a Palestinian uprising that included suicide bombings and shooting attacks and which was met by Israeli military operations across the West Bank. After the intifada subsided, tourist visits began in 2009.

The man in charge, Colonel Sharon Gat, said staff stressed the importance of vigilance and caution. The Arab man depicted on his cellphone was deemed innocent by the instructors, so the target did not end up being shot.

A tourist takes part in a two hour “boot camp” experience, at “Caliber 3 Israeli Counter Terror and Security Academy” in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank July 13, 2017. REUTERS/Nir Elias

SECURITY INDUSTRY

“In two hours you can’t become a professional, but we give visitors some awareness of what it means to secure yourself, your community and your family,” said Gat.

“Many (visitors) have heard from their friends (about us), that this was the highlight of their trip to Israel and that is why they come. They know it’s an attraction they can’t see anywhere else,” he said.

Yasser Sobih, mayor of the nearby Palestinian town of al-Khader, condemned the Israeli venture.

“The participation of tourists in training in these camps built on occupied Palestinian land means that they support the occupation and we ask them to stop it,” he told Reuters.

One of the visitors, Rabbi Moshe Bryski of Agoura Hills in California, said that if he was ever caught in an attack, he would run and hide since he does not carry a weapon.

But he said the training had given him “an understanding and an appreciation of what those in the security industry face”.

Yotam Yaakoba, of the anti-settlement group Peace Now, criticized the venture as a “cynical and unseemly way of making money from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”.

Many Israelis have served in the military, and it is not unusual for off-duty soldiers and police and some civilians to carry weapons in public, but gun control laws are strict.

Over the past two years, during a surge in Palestinian street attacks, Israeli passersby have in a few cases shot and wounded or killed assailants or suspected attackers.

Rights groups have accused Israel of using excessive force in some incidents. Israel says its forces act lawfully to counter lethal threats.

Palestinians want to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Along with most of the world, they consider settlements illegal and an obstacle to peace. Israel disagrees, citing biblical, historical and political connections to the land – many of which the Palestinians also claim – as well as security interests.

(Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Alison Williams)

Two Israeli policemen shot dead near Jerusalem holy site, gunmen killed: police

Israeli border policemen secure the area near the scene of the shooting attack, in Jerusalem's Old City July 14, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

By Maayan Lubell

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Three Arab-Israeli gunmen opened fire at police near Jerusalem’s holiest site on Friday, killing two Israeli policemen, before security forces killed the attackers, police said.

Israeli authorities shut the area after the attacks – the most serious incident in years close to the highly sensitive compound, which is holy to both Muslims and Jews.

The closure stopped Muslims gathering there for Friday prayers, drawing a call for resistance from Palestinian leaders.

The gunmen arrived at the sacred site, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, and walked towards one of the Old City gates nearby, police spokeswoman Luba Simri said.

“When they saw policemen they shot towards them and then escaped towards one of the mosques in the Temple Mount compound,” Simri said. “A chase ensued and the three terrorists were killed by police.”

She said three firearms were found on their bodies. The Shin Bet Israeli internal security service said the three gunmen were Arab citizens of Israel.

There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank. No group claimed responsibility, though the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, praised the attack.

“Hamas lauds the heroic operation in Jerusalem,” Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua said in a statement.

Mobile phone video footage aired by Israeli media showed several policemen chasing a man and shooting him down at the site, which is a popular place for foreign tourists to visit. Israeli authorities are still working to identify the attackers, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

The Israeli ambulance service Magen David Adom said a third policeman was lightly wounded in the incident.

Tensions are often high around the marble-and-stone compound that houses the Aqsa Mosque and the golden Dome of the Rock. It is managed by Jordanian religious authorities and is adjacent to the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews are permitted to pray.

PRAYERS CANCELED

Police said Friday prayers for Muslims would not be held at the site following the attack for security reasons, while forces scanned the area for weapons and investigated the incident.

Authorities have often restricted access to the Aqsa mosque when concerned about possible violence there, but a total shutdown is rare.

The Palestinian Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammad Hussein, called on Palestinians to defy the shutdown.

“We completely reject the ban by Israeli authorities,” Hussein told Reuters by telephone. “We have urged our Palestinian people to rush to al Aqsa today and every day to hold their prayers.”

His call was later echoed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement.

In an apparent effort to ease tensions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement there would be no change to the agreement on shared use.

The compound is a tinder-box for the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Under a delicate agreement, Jews are allowed into the compound but are not permitted to pray.

A wave of Palestinian street attacks that began in 2015 has slowed but not stopped. At least 257 Palestinians and one Jordanian citizen have been killed since the violence began. A few of the attacks were carried out by Arab Israeli citizens.

Israel says at least 176 of those killed were carrying out attacks while others died in clashes and protests. Forty Israelis, two U.S. tourists and a British student have been killed in stabbings, shootings and car-rammings.

Israel annexed East Jerusalem, where the Old City and the holy compound are located, after the 1967 Middle East war and regards all of Jerusalem as its capital, a move that is not recognized internationally.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of the state they want to establish in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Israel blames the wave of violence on incitement by the Palestinian leadership. The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, says desperation over the occupation is the main driver.

(Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Luke Baker and Andrew Heavens)

Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank clash: medical officials

Palestinian mourners attends the funeral of Saad Salah and Aws Salameh in the West Bank city of Jenin, July 12, 2017. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini

JENIN, West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli forces killed two Palestinians on Wednesday in a raid on a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian medical officials said, and the Israeli military said its troops had opened fire after coming under attack.

The incident took place before dawn in Jenin refugee camp, and no Israeli casualties were reported.

Israeli forces often carry out searches in the West Bank for suspected militants and weapons manufacturing facilities. .

“During an IDF (Israel Defence Forces) operation in the Jenin refugee camp, Palestinian gunmen opened fire at the forces and assailants hurled explosive devices at the forces,” the military said in a statement.

“In response to the immediate threat, forces shot towards the attackers.”

The Palestinian health ministry said the two Palestinians killed by the troops were aged 21 and 16, and that a third person was shot and wounded in the leg.

Camp residents made no mention of any Palestinian gunfire in their accounts of the raid in which they said rocks were thrown at the troops.

Mohammed Sadee, who lives in the camp, said he witnessed one of the Palestinians being shot.

“The military jeeps were driving in and this martyr was behind them on a motorbike. They shot him … and he fell to the ground,” he said.

(Reporting by Ali Samoudi in Jenin and Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem; Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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