As Israeli Police Lock Al Aksa Mosque, U.N. Chief Denounces ‘Provocations’

Source: New York Times

JERUSALEM — The secretary general of the United Nations on Monday condemned what he called “provocations” at Jerusalem’s holy sites, hours after the Israeli police said officers had locked Palestinians inside Al Aksa Mosque to thwart a riot as Jews visited for the holiday of Sukkot.

Scores of officers entered the mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem at 7 a.m. on Monday and found “petrol bombs, stones, bottle rockets and fireworks” as well as “masked Palestinians,” according to the police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld. The officers shuttered the mosque with an unknown number of Palestinians inside, Mr. Rosenfeld said, as several hundred Jews and non-Muslim tourists ascended to Al Aksa compound during regular visiting hours, starting at 8 a.m.

Mr. Rosenfeld said no one was hurt or arrested. Among the visitors was Moshe Feiglin, a right-wing Israeli lawmaker, whose prior pilgrimages to the site have been a focal point for clashes.

The 37-acre compound is the holiest site in Judaism, and the third holiest in Islam. Jews call it the Temple Mount, Muslims the Noble Sanctuary. It has been a focus of increasing tension and violence in recent months. On Wednesday, before the weeklong Sukkot festival, three officers were hurt, and nine Palestinians were arrested in a confrontation where, Mr. Rosenfeld said, the police used stun grenades to disperse a crowd throwing stones, firebombs and other projectiles.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/world/middleeast/al-aksa-mosque-israel-palestinians.html?_r=0