Israeli Forces Keep Muslims From Mosque on Temple Mount

Israeli security forces prevented thousands of Muslims from attending Friday prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in a massive show of force to thwart rioting at one of Islam’s holiest sites.

There were no reports of disturbances in Jerusalem on Friday, but police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse Muslims on the Temple Mount who wanted to stay the night Thursday.

In the occupied territories Friday, soldiers shot and killed an 18-year-old Palestinian man during a violent clash in the West Bank town of Nablus, an army spokesman said. Palestinian sources said a 3-year-old boy, a 10-year-old boy and at least 12 other Palestinians were wounded by Israeli army gunfire in scattered disturbances.

As part of the intensified security measures, the army clamped curfews on most of the Gaza Strip and declared the two largest towns in the West Bank closed military zones to discourage more violence following a raid Thursday by Israel’s paramilitary border police on the village of Nahhalin that left at least four Palestinians dead and as many as 20 wounded.

A team of army investigators visited Nahhalin, 6 miles south of Jerusalem, on Friday to probe what has been described as one of the worst incidents of the 16-month-old Palestinian uprising.

The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross, in a rare public statement, Friday condemned police action in the raid, saying people in Nahhalin were fired on “without discrimination and without restraint.”

The Red Cross statement said that six were killed and 30 wounded at Nahhalin. The Israeli army repeated its finding that four were killed. Palestinians sources say one or two more Arabs were killed and buried immediately, but the claims could not be confirmed.

Maj. Gen. Meshulam Amit, the commander of the border police, admitted Friday that his men made mistakes at Nahhalin, which remained under curfew Friday.

“There was no doubt there were faults at Nahhalin. They must be examined and conclusions drawn,” Amit said in a telephone interview with the Reuters news agency.

Israeli newspapers on Friday reported that during the Nahhalin raid, border police units in the village and regular army units in area had a sharp disagreement.

Citing army sources, the mass-circulation tabloid Hadashot reported: “The soldiers demanded the border patrol leave the area, but they refused. The exchange turned into a physical clash and even reciprocal stone throwing.”

In one of the largest shows of force since the start of the popular revolt against Israeli occupation in December, 1987, more than 3,000 police and soldiers Friday patrolled Arab East Jerusalem and manned checkpoints on roads leading into Jerusalem and at the gates of the walled Old City, where the Temple Mount is located.

Authorities were determined to prevent a repeat of last week’s riot during which Muslim demonstrators threw stones at Jews praying at the adjacent Western Wall, the most sacred site in Judaism.

Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip were turned away at the Jerusalem city limits and Jerusalem residents who did not live in the Old City were barred and told to go to a mosque in their neighborhood.

Police said as many as 35,000 worshipers were expected to attend prayers on the second Friday of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting, but only about 7,000 were admitted.

As an additional precaution, the Magreb Gate to the Temple Mount near the Western Wall was closed for the day.

The Western Wall was nearly empty of Jews on Friday, although tourists continued to visit the area.

The cobblestone alleys around the Temple Mount were filled with riot police armed with clubs, tear gas and automatic assault rifles. At the Temple Mount gates, police checked identity cards, turning away many young men and holding the cards of some who were allowed to enter.