UN urges calm in Jerusalem
Israel is playing down Palestinian warnings that its security tactics risk a new Palestinian uprising. But a United Nations envoy who visited the mosque on Thursday said the situation still unstable though less tense.
"It is clear that the situation is not yet resolved, but tensions have eased somewhat," UN Special Coordinator Robert Serry said in a statement. "All I have spoken to have assured me of their desire to see calm restored.
The compound housing the mosque is a holy place for both Muslims and Jews, and has often been a flashpoint. Israeli security forces control access to the area and regularly prohibit young Muslim men from entering the holy site in Jerusalem's Old City, citing security grounds.
Tensions rose two weeks ago when police and protesters clashed near Al-Aqsa mosque on the eve of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur. What triggered the incident remains unclear, but the dispute over access to the holy site was at the root of it.
A beefed-up Israeli police presence, and a relatively small turnout of Palestinian protesters, has kept violence under control in ensuing clashes since late September.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction called for a general strike on Friday in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, as Palestinian leaders warned of the likelihood of a battle before Friday prayers at the mosque.
Palestinians in senior positions have warned of the risk of a "Third Intifada," or general uprising. But Israel has tried to avoid getting involved in any war of words over Jerusalem.
"I don't think we're facing a third intifada," Israeli Vice Premier Silvan Shalom told Reuters. "Whoever says so is trying to instil fear."
Palestinians staged uprisings against Israeli rule in the late 1980s and again in 2000 when peace talks failed.
In the most recent cycle of confrontation, small groups of Palestinian stone-throwers clashed with Israeli forces and Israel banished a few Palestinian leaders from Jerusalem, charging them with incitement, Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.