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News ID: 42190
Publish Date : 26 July 2017 - 21:42

Palestinians Vow to Continue Al-Aqsa Protests



OCCUPIED AL-QUDS (Dispatches) -- A senior Muslim official in Jerusalem Al-Quds said Wednesday that worshippers would not return to a holy site until the occupying regime of Israel removes the new railings and cameras it installed after a deadly attack there.
Ikrema Sabri, head of the Supreme Islamic Committee, said that even after the Zionist regime removed metal detectors from the site, more steps are required to restore calm. He said mass prayer protests would continue until the gates of the compound are opened, metal railings and an iron bridge removed and newly installed cameras taken down.
"We will not enter the mosque until these things are implemented," Sabri told The Associated Press. "Now we are awaiting the response of the police."
The demands set off the prospect of a renewed showdown ahead of Friday prayers at the site, when a large number of worshipers arrive for the centerpiece of the Muslim prayer week.
The Zionist regime installed the new measures earlier this month after Arab gunmen shot and killed two police officers from within the site. Palestinians say the occupying regime is using the incident as a pretext to expand its control over the site. The issue sparked some of the worst street clashes in years and threatened to draw Israel into conflict with other Arab and Muslim nations.
Under intense pressure, the occupying regime removed the metal detectors and said it planned to install sophisticated security cameras instead.
But Palestinian politicians and Muslim clerics say that isn't enough and are demanding Israel restore the situation at the shrine in the Old City of Al-Quds to what it was before the July 14 deadly attack.
In response to that attack, the occupying regime of closed the site for two days for purported weapons searches and installed the metal detectors. The decision quickly triggered Muslim protests amid fears that Israel was trying to expand its control at the site under the guise of security.
Low-level clashes have continued in and around Jerusalem Al-Quds. The Red Crescent said 13 people were treated Tuesday night after being hit by rubber bullets during protests.
The continued standoff highlighted the deep distrust between Israel and the Palestinians when it comes to the site - the third-holiest in Islam.
The 37-acre (15-hectare) compound, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, has been a lightning rod for the rival religious and national narratives of the two sides and has triggered major confrontations in the past.
The latest development could put Zionist PM Benjamin Netanyahu in a tough spot. His regime has faced a growing backlash for what critics said was hasty decision-making and embarrassing policy reversals. Even Israel Hayom, a daily owned by Netanyahu's billionaire patron Sheldon Adelson, denounced Israel's response to the crisis.
In an unprecedented headline, the paper - which has been an unequivocal source of support for the Zionist prime minister - led with "Netanyahu's demonstration of helplessness."
In a face-saving compromise, and after Netanyahu spoke to Jordan's King Abdullah II and others, the occupying regime’s security cabinet announced on Monday that in place of the metal detectors, it would employ nonintrusive "advanced technologies" - reportedly smart cameras that can detect hidden objects. The new security system is said to be set up in the next six months at a cost of $28 million.
Netanyahu appeared to be doubling back again Wednesday when he instructed police forces to conduct thorough inspections at the site.
Zionist police, meanwhile, acknowledged Wednesday that their forces have been preventing journalists from entering parts of the Old City.
Reporters have complained this week that they were being blocked from covering the unrest around the holy site while Zionists being billed by Israel as tourists have been able to freely move about the city and film with their mobile phones.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Wednesday that "journalists are being prevented from coming in those specific areas where there have been disturbances and riots." He said it was a decision made by the Al-Quds police district.
The Foreign Press Association derided the move, calling it "a kind of innovative censorship that is surprising in a country that prides itself on press freedom."
The Zionist regime has also found itself in a new scuffle with Turkey, whose leader President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been among its fiercest critics. On Tuesday, Erdogan accused Israel of using security measures as a pretext to take over holy sites in Al-Quds.
The occupying regime’s foreign ministry responded by calling the comments "delusional, baseless and distorted."
"The days of the Ottoman Empire are over," it said. "He who lives in a palace of glass would be better off not throwing stones."
Netanyahu's office also chimed in, saying it wondered what Erdogan would have to say to Kurds and residents of north Cyprus. "Erdogan is the last one who can preach to Israel," it said in a statement.
On Wednesday, Turkey's foreign ministry called the Israeli statements "arrogant."
Erdogan also said the occupying regime’s removal of metal detectors was "not enough".
"Israel took the right step to remove the metal detectors to help lower tension," Erdogan said. "But is it enough according to our wishes? No, it is not," he said at a meeting on further education in the Islamic world in Ankara.
Erdogan said Turkey "cannot tolerate" constraints placed on Muslims visiting the site during Friday prayers.