logo
Weather page
GET THE APP
ePaper
google_play
app_store
  • Login
  • E-Edition
  • News
  • Sports
  • Obituaries
  • Opinion
  • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • All Listings
    • Jobs
  • Special Sections
  • Photo Gallery
  • Contests
  • Lifestyle/Entertainment
  • Games
    • News
      • Local News
      • PA State News
      • Nation/World
    • Sports
      • Local
      • College Sports
      • State
      • National
    • Obituaries
    • Opinion
      • News
        • Local News
        • PA State News
        • Nation/World
      • Sports
        • Local
        • College Sports
        • State
        • National
      • Obituaries
      • Opinion
    logo
    • Classifieds
      • Place an Ad
      • All Listings
      • Jobs
    • E-Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Login
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • All Listings
        • Jobs
      • E-Edition
      • Subscribe
      • Login
    Home News Palestinians, Israeli forces clash amid holy site tensions
    Palestinians, Israeli forces clash amid holy site tensions
    News, World
    MAJDI MOHAMMED  
    September 29, 2015

    Palestinians, Israeli forces clash amid holy site tensions

    RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli troops across the West Bank on Tuesday, while three tourists were lightly wounded by Palestinian stone throwers as tensions remained high following days of violence at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site.

    The hilltop compound, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, was largely quiet Tuesday. About 600 tourists and 100 Israelis visited the site without serious incident. Israel has barred Muslim men under the age of 50 from entering the compound in recent days in a move it says is aimed at easing tensions.

    The site has experienced repeated clashes over the past two weeks as Palestinian protesters barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque while hurling stones, firebombs and fireworks at Israeli police outside.

    The compound in Jerusalem’s Old City is a frequent flashpoint and its fate is a core issue at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war, as their future capital.

    The compound is sacred to Muslims, who refer to it as Noble Sanctuary, the place where they believe Islam’s Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.

    The compound is also where the two biblical Jewish Temples stood, and is Judaism’s holiest site. Under a longstanding arrangement, Jews are allowed to visit but not pray there.

    The Palestinians view such visits as provocations, and rumors have spread that Jews are planning on taking over the site, fueling the recent clashes. Israel says there are no plans to change the arrangements. But calls by a group of religious Jews to visit the site, coupled with periodic Israeli restrictions on Muslim visits, have inflamed tensions.

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is committed to maintaining the status quo at the site and that it is the Palestinians who are breaching the fragile agreement there.

    “Israel wants peace with the Palestinian people that unfortunately continue to spread crass lies about our policy on the Temple Mount. I will demand an end to this wild incitement,” Netanyahu said before leaving for the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

    Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement meanwhile staged a series of protests in the West Bank on Tuesday.

    In the West Bank city of Ramallah, about 300 protesters affiliated with Fatah marched toward the nearby Israeli settlement of Bet El. The military said “rioters threw rocks at passing vehicles and at forces that arrived at the scene.” Forces used tear gas, stun grenades and fired rubber and low-caliber bullets at the legs of “main instigators,” it said. At least six Palestinian suffered leg injuries.

    In Bethlehem, protesters threw rocks and firebombs, wounding a paramilitary border police officer, it said.

    Fatah officials said Tuesday’s demonstrations were meant to protest Israeli actions at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

    The clashes occurred a day before Abbas is to address the U.N. General Assembly. With the plight of the Palestinians overshadowed this year by the civil war in Syria and the migrant crisis in Europe, Tuesday’s unrest appeared to be an attempt to draw attention back to the conflict.

    The protests also appeared to be a veiled warning to Israel.

    Despite cool relations, Israel and the Palestinians have maintained close security cooperation to help ease tensions on the ground. But on Tuesday, Palestinian police left their posts and did not prevent marchers from approaching Israeli military checkpoints. In some cases, Palestinian security men even joined the protesters in throwing rocks.

    “We can change the security commitments … and implement only what is good for our people,” Fatah official Hana Amira told the Voice of Palestine radio station.

    The unrest comes during the weeklong Jewish festival of Sukkot that celebrates the fall harvest and commemorates the wandering of the ancient Israelites through the desert following their exodus from Egypt. In ancient times, Jews made pilgrimages to Jerusalem on Sukkot, and many Jews are visiting the city this week.

    On Tuesday, Palestinians hurled stones at a taxi just outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, lightly wounding two American tourists, police said. In the West Bank city of Hebron, Israeli TV showed a young female tourist holding her head as she was treated by medics and soldiers after she was hit by a rock thrown by Palestinians.

    Overnight, Israeli police arrested seven Palestinians it said were involved in the recent violence.

    Tags:

    bombings events general news government and politics international relations islam judaism lifestyle political and civil unrest protests and demonstrations religion social affairs travel united nations general assembly annual meeting war and unrest

    The Bradford Era

    Local & Social
    Latest news for you
    Isolated Torrey pine populations yield insights into genetic diversity
    Nation & World, PA State News
    Isolated Torrey pine populations yield insights into genetic diversity
    June 15, 2025
    UNIVERSITY PARK — Entire regions of trees are disappearing because of invasive pests, disease and a changing climate. The key to their ability to adap...
    Read More...
    Pa. charter school CEOs earn more money than superintendents and oversee fewer students
    PA State News
    Pa. charter school CEOs earn more money than superintendents and oversee fewer students
    By OLIVER MORRISON  pennlive.com 
    June 15, 2025
    HARRISBURG (TNS) — Brad Hatch grew up near Altoona and started his career as a teacher in the local school district, working his way up to assistant p...
    Read More...
    Pa. is supposed to ‘immediately’ suspend teachers charged with serious crimes. That doesn’t always happen.
    PA State News
    Pa. is supposed to ‘immediately’ suspend teachers charged with serious crimes. That doesn’t always happen.
    June 14, 2025
    PHILADELPHIA (TNS)— For months after he was arrested in March 2024 on charges of masturbating in a Montgomery County cemetery, Matthew Gagat continued...
    Read More...
    No Kings rally in Veterans Square
    Local News, Nation & World
    No Kings rally in Veterans Square
    By SAVANNAH BARR s.barr@bradfordera.com 
    June 14, 2025
    Veterans Square was packed Saturday afternoon as residents came together to express their discontent with the current administration during the local ...
    Read More...
    {"newsletter-daily-headlines":"Daily Headlines", "newsletters":"Newsletters", "to-print":"To print", "bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    Advocates, lawmakers push to limit solitary confinement in Pa. prisons
    Advocates, lawmakers push to limit solitary confinement in Pa. prisons
    June 14, 2025
    HARRISBURG (TNS) — Reform advocates are making another push to limit the use of solitary confinement in Pennsylvania prisons and jails, a long-running...
    Read More...
    {"bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    Varischetti Game to Showcase Local Players June 27
    Local Sports
    Varischetti Game to Showcase Local Players June 27
    Jo Wankel 
    June 14, 2025
    BROCKWAY - The 10th Annual Frank Varischetti All-Star Football game is slated for the end of the month, and several area players were recognized for t...
    Read More...
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    This Week's Ads
    Current e-Edition
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Already a subscriber? Click the image to view the latest e-edition.
    Don't have a subscription? Click here to see our subscription options.
    Mobile App

    Download Now

    The Bradford Era mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the Bradford Era on your mobile device just as it appears in print.

    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Trending Recipes

    Help Our Community

    Please help local businesses by taking an online survey to help us navigate through these unprecedented times. None of the responses will be shared or used for any other purpose except to better serve our community. The survey is at: www.pulsepoll.com $1,000 is being awarded. Everyone completing the survey will be able to enter a contest to Win as our way of saying, "Thank You" for your time. Thank You!

    Get in touch with The Bradford Era
    Submit Content
    • Submit News
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Place Wedding Announcement
      • Submit News
      • Letter to the Editor
      • Place Wedding Announcement
    Advertise
    • Place Birth Announcement
    • Place Anniversary Announcement
    • Place Obituary Call (814) 368-3173
      • Place Birth Announcement
      • Place Anniversary Announcement
      • Place Obituary Call (814) 368-3173
    Subscribe
    • Start a Subscription
    • e-Edition
    • Contact Us
      • Start a Subscription
      • e-Edition
      • Contact Us
    CMG | Community Media Group
    Illinois
    • Hancock Journal-Pilot
    • Iroquois Times-Republic
    • Journal-Republican
    • The News-Gazette
      • Hancock Journal-Pilot
      • Iroquois Times-Republic
      • Journal-Republican
      • The News-Gazette
    Indiana
    • Fountain Co. Neighbor
    • Herald Journal
    • KV Post News
    • Newton Co. Enterprise
    • Rensselaer Republican
    • Review-Republican
      • Fountain Co. Neighbor
      • Herald Journal
      • KV Post News
      • Newton Co. Enterprise
      • Rensselaer Republican
      • Review-Republican
    Iowa
    • Atlantic News Telegraph
    • Audubon Advocate-Journal
    • Barr’s Post Card News
    • Burlington Hawk Eye
    • Collector’s Journal
    • Fayette County Union
    • Ft. Madison Daily Democrat
    • Independence Bulletin-Journal
    • Keokuk Daily Gate City
    • Oelwein Daily Register
    • Vinton Newspapers
    • Waverly Newspapers
      • Atlantic News Telegraph
      • Audubon Advocate-Journal
      • Barr’s Post Card News
      • Burlington Hawk Eye
      • Collector’s Journal
      • Fayette County Union
      • Ft. Madison Daily Democrat
      • Independence Bulletin-Journal
      • Keokuk Daily Gate City
      • Oelwein Daily Register
      • Vinton Newspapers
      • Waverly Newspapers
    Michigan
    • Iosco County News-Herald
    • Ludington Daily News
    • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
    • Oscoda Press
    • White Lake Beacon
      • Iosco County News-Herald
      • Ludington Daily News
      • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
      • Oscoda Press
      • White Lake Beacon
    New York
    • Finger Lakes Times
    • Olean Times Herald
    • Salamanca Press
      • Finger Lakes Times
      • Olean Times Herald
      • Salamanca Press
    Pennsylvania
    • Bradford Era
    • Clearfield Progress
    • Courier Express
    • Free Press Courier
    • Jeffersonian Democrat
    • Leader Vindicator
    • Potter Leader-Enterprise
    • The Wellsboro Gazette
      • Bradford Era
      • Clearfield Progress
      • Courier Express
      • Free Press Courier
      • Jeffersonian Democrat
      • Leader Vindicator
      • Potter Leader-Enterprise
      • The Wellsboro Gazette
    © Copyright The Bradford Era 43 Main St, Bradford, PA  | Terms of Use  | Privacy Policy
    Powered by TECNAVIA