Israeli Police, Muslims Clash on Temple Mount

Israeli police Friday fired tear gas canisters into the Al Aqsa mosque, one of the most sacred shrines of Islam, and attacked some Muslim holy day worshipers after they assaulted a policeman, witnesses said.

Israeli police confirmed that they entered the mosque but denied firing tear gas into the mosque or beating worshipers.

Eyewitnesses said it was one of the most violent clashes ever on the revered Temple Mount, where the mosque is situated in the Old City.

From the mosque, the tumult spread to the nearby Dome of the Rock shrine. Youths hurled stones at the police and were quickly dispersed.

8 Protesters Arrested

A police spokesman, Rafi Levy, said the Palestinians, wielding clubs, attacked a policeman and stole his sidearm and tried to drag him into the mosque.

Eight of the protesters were arrested, he said.

Witnesses said that before the police moved in, some Palestinian youths also waved the outlawed flag of Palestine Liberation Organization and set fire to U.S. and Israeli flags.

Between 70 and 100 people were reported injured in the incident, which occurred when the Israeli police apparently decided to break up a planned Palestinian demonstration before it could begin.

The nursing supervisor at the Augusta Victoria Hospital in heavily Arab East Jerusalem, where many of the victims were treated, said they included a 4-month-old baby and a woman of about 70. Both were treated for tear-gas inhalation.

Also on Friday, a Palestinian youth was shot and killed in the Gaza Strip after he stabbed an Israeli soldier who was searching his home, authorities reported. The death brought to 36 the number of Arabs reported killed in civil unrest in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank in the last six weeks.

Disturbances also occurred in Hebron and other communities in the West Bank area. About 15 refugee camps in the occupied territories, housing 275,000 Palestinians, were placed under a strict curfew by the Israeli army.

The encounter at the Al Aqsa mosque followed an announcement by Palestinians that they would observe a day of mourning for those killed in the recent wave of violence. After the weekly prayer service at the mosque, religious leaders urged young men to march through the area as a form of protest.

Troops Bar Reporters

Before the service, Israeli police barred Western journalists from entering the area, in the southeast corner of the Old City, but several climbed to the roof of a nearby building and were able to see much of what was happening.

After the service, according to several worshipers, the youths who had been exhorted to march began assembling outside the mosque.

The policemen seemed to move against the Palestinians in waves, charging and then regrouping, firing tear gas and then moving in again.

The view from the roof was partly obscured by trees, and it was difficult for the journalists to tell to what degree the riot police may have been provoked by the youths.

Eyewitness Account

A man who attended the service said the young Palestinians “did not even have time to line up and march before the police came in.” He identified himself as Ed Tamimi, 36, and said he was a naturalized American who had returned to Israel to look after his elderly father.

“They began firing tear gas right into the mosque,” he said, “and then beat people with the sticks, some even before they could put their shoes on outside the mosque.”

Another Muslim who attended the service said: “The police did not seem to select those who were demonstrating. They beat the demonstrators and the people at prayer alike. It was barbaric.”

However, Levy, the police spokesman, said that no tear gas was fired into the mosque and that no one was beaten at prayer. He said policemen entered the mosque and searched people who were leaving until they found the officer’s stolen handgun.

He said the violence erupted when the Palestinians set fire to the flags.

Journalists on the roof could see policemen charging with uplifted truncheons and dragging Palestinian youths away, while at the nearby Western Wall, Jewish worshipers prayed quietly. Several Palestinians were carried away on stretchers, and a policeman was borne from the area by some of his companions. Later, he was reported to be in serious condition with a stab wound.

Palestinians interviewed after the incident complained that the police moved in immediately after the service, firing tear gas and striking people for no apparent reason.

Attacked During Prayer

Several Muslim women said they had been attacked as they prayed in the mosque.

Shops in the Old City were closed throughout the day, but sidewalk vendors were out selling fruit and vegetables. As the tear gas sifted through the area, however, even the vendors were forced to flee.

Temple Mount, is considered to be the third holiest site of Islam after Mecca and Medina and is also hallowed by Jews.

Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven from the site on which the gold-topped Dome of the Rock shrine is built, and Jews revere Temple Mount as the site of their ancient temples.