Jerusalem remains tense as Al Aqsa mosque partially reopens

Jerusalem remained tense Friday as the Al Aqsa mosque was partially reopened to Muslim worshipers while Palestinians clashed with police around the city in a “day of rage” against Israeli policies.

A temporary ban on access to the Muslim holy site was modified to allow Muslim men over 50 years old and women of all ages to pray there. Some younger men protested by praying in nearby streets in the rain. According to Israeli police, about 4,500 Muslim worshipers entered the Al Aqsa site for prayers on Friday.

The latest spark to ignite problems in Jerusalem came Wednesday night with the shooting of Yehuda Glick, a prominent advocate of Jewish rights to the site, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount. Glick, who was seriously wounded, has also called for rebuilding the ancient temple that Jews say stood at the site.

Israel responded to the attack on Glick, who remains hospitalized in serious condition, by shutting down Al Aqsa to Muslim worshipers and all visitors. The decision drew fierce condemnation from the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Egypt, as well as U.S. concern for maintaining the status quo at the compound.

On Thursday morning, Israeli police shot dead Muataz Hijazi, a 32-year-old Palestinian from the Jerusalem neighborhood of Abu-Tor, who had been identified by Israeli intelligence as Glick’s assailant.

According to Israeli police, Hijazi was shot after he opened fire on authorities who came to arrest him at the family home in Abu-Tor. Initial results from an autopsy indicated he was struck 20 times and bled to death, according to Palestinian reports. His funeral late Thursday night drew hundreds despite police attempts to restrict attendance.

On Friday, Palestinian protesters also tried to break through a police barricade in Jerusalem’s Old City and fired flares from rooftops. Elsewhere, demonstrators scuffled with police, blocking roads and throwing rocks at large forces deployed in the city in recent days as authorities have vowed to crush the ongoing wave of trouble.

Protests were also reported in the West Bank city of Hebron and the volatile Qalandiya checkpoint north of Jerusalem, where Palestinians reported eight people were injured when Israeli soldiers opened fire on demonstrators protesting the Al Aqsa mosque closure and the killing of Hijazi.

Sobelman is a special correspondent.