Posted on 06/06/2005 7:38:41 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
Several hundred Arabs pelted police and Jewish visitors with stones on the Temple Mount Monday, lightly injuring two Jews and a police officer, as the nation marked Jerusalem Day and the reunification of the capital 38 years ago.
Police fired several stun grenades to disperse the rioters, and arrested a Palestinian who tried to attack a Jewish visitor, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.
The violence broke out at 9:15 a.m. as a small group of Jews touring the compound accompanied by police came under a hail of stones.
Police quickly rushed reinforcements into the Temple Mount, and dispersed the rioters with stun grenades.
After being rebuffed by police, several hundred Arab teens retreated towards Al-Aksa Mosque, where they congregated for a tense half hour, chanting nationalistic slogans and waving the flags of the Islamic Movement.
After restoring order, most of the police left the compound, and returned to their positions at the nearby Mugrabi Gate leading into the Temple Mount about an hour later.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas blamed Israel for the unrest on the Temple Mount, and said the Jews should not have been allowed into the compound. "The Israeli government and the international community must stop these unjustified and dangerous violations," he said during a tour of a Palestinian high school in Ramallah.
In response to the morning rioting, police banned all non-Muslim entry to the compound for the day, and imposed age restrictions on midday Muslim prayers at the site, barring all Arab men under the age of 45 from entering the compound.
The Jerusalem Day clashes took police by surprise, since they were preparing for Jewish not Arab protests at the entrance to the site.
Indeed on Sunday, the Supreme Court had barred two ultra-nationalist Jewish groups from entering the site, rejecting an appeal by the fringe groups against a police decision not to let them into the compound.
Several dozen members of one of the groups, The Temple Mount Faithful, were prevented by police from entering the compound.
"We will liberate the Temple Mount," read signs carried by the group during a march around the Old City walls.
"I would not feel so all alone. Everyone must get stoned!"
Someone needs to blow the crap out of that temple. If you think urinating on the Koran caused a little trouble wait until someone does the temple. It has to happen sooner or later as the Jews WILL build a new temple on the mound.
Perfect response, I like it.... They live in a culture of lies and thievery. Always have and always will.
I am so, so sorry that one of SoDamned Insane's SCUDs didn't land in the middle of that stinking mosque during Gulf-I.
Stone Temple Palestinians?
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