Israel briefly bars media from Jerusalem’s Old City

Foreign Press Association complains after cops deny access to entrances to Temple Mount where new security equipment installed

Muslim worshipers perform noon prayers by the Lions Gate, outside the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City, July 20, 2017. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
Muslim worshipers perform noon prayers by the Lions Gate, outside the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City, July 20, 2017. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

An organization representing journalists complained on Sunday after police barred media for several hours from a flashpoint area of the Old City, saying it impinged on freedom of the press.

The Foreign Press Association, which represents journalists for foreign outlets in Israel and the Palestinian areas, criticized what it called the “deplorable situation in Old City Jerusalem where tourists [are] given access, while accredited journalists and photojournalists [are] not.”

In a statement, the FPA said Israeli security forces kept journalists out of the Old City’s clash zones over the weekend.

The journalists were not permitted to enter the road leading to Lions Gate, where security cameras were set up overnight.

Police said in response that giving journalists access to the area may cause a security crisis or harm security.

A spokesperson for Jerusalem district police told Haaretz news site that there was concern that the media may disturb the worshipers there or create concern among those who were there.

Last Sunday, Israel placed metal detectors at gates to the Temple Mount in response to a shooting attack by three Arab Israelis who killed two Israeli policemen just outside the compound on July 14 using weapons they had smuggled into the site. Israel introduced additional security equipment at entrances to the holy site overnight Saturday-Sunday.

Israeli border policemen install metal detectors outside the Lion's Gate, a main entrance to the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City, on July 16, 2017, after security forces reopened the ultra-sensitive site, whose closure after a deadly attack earlier in the week sparked anger. (AFP/ AHMAD GHARABLI)
Israeli border policemen install metal detectors outside the Lion’s Gate, a main entrance to the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Old City, on July 16, 2017, after security forces reopened the ultra-sensitive site, whose closure after a deadly attack earlier in the week sparked anger. (AFP/ AHMAD GHARABLI)

In the wake of the July 14 attack, Israel closed the site, known to Muslims as Haram Al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) for 48 hours, as it searched for more weapons, and then installed metal detector gates at entrances to the compound.

Three Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli forces on Friday during riots over the Temple Mount metal detectors, and another was killed Saturday when a petrol bomb he was planning to throw at Israeli security forces exploded prematurely.

On Friday night, a Palestinian terrorist stabbed to death three Israelis at their Shabbat dinner table in the West Bank settlement of Halamish.

 

Muslim leaders say the metal detectors mark a change to the status quo at the site. Israel says the July 14 attack showed an imperative for reinforced security measures.

The Islamic Waqf, Jordanian custodians of the holy site, opposed the presence of the metal detectors and called on Palestinians and Israeli Arabs not to enter the site to pray there.

The Temple Mount is the holiest place for Jews, as the site of the biblical temples. It is the third holiest site in Islam, where it is known as the Al-Aqsa compound, as the place from which the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.

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