Palestinian social media targets Jerusalem police chief
Facebook post calls Yoram Halevi a 'racist police officer' acting against Temple Mount worshipers 'for personal revenge'
Jerusalem police chief Yoram Halevi became a target for Palestinian incitement on Friday after he said police could cope with any unrest stemming from Palestinian anger at Israel’s installation of metal detectors at the entrances to the Temple Mount compound following a terror attack last week.
The metal detectors, installed after three Arab-Israelis shot dead two Israeli police officers at the site last Friday using guns they had smuggled into the holy site, drew wrath from Islamic religious leaders, who called on Palestinians to avoid passing through them and not to enter the Temple Mount for prayers.
One Facebook post Friday, which was shared hundreds of times, had a photo of Halevi with the caption, “Wanted man,” Channel 2 reported.
Another post said, “The racist officer acts with vengeance against the Palestinians and is known to the residents of Jerusalem for his racist positions and his hatred of Arabs. Furthermore, he used the attack in Al-Aqsa last Friday for personal revenge, to express his hatred for the religious sites in Jerusalem.”
The decision not to remove the metal detectors ahead of Friday’s prayers was taken at a cabinet meeting that ended late Thursday night. Police decided that some roads and streets inside the Old City would be cordoned off and that the entry of worshipers to the Temple Mount would be limited to men older than 50.
In clashes after prayers Friday, at least three Palestinians were killed.
A senior Palestinian official said on Friday that the US had offered a solution to the dispute over the metal detectors but that Israel rejected it.
Hatem Abd el Kader, the Fatah official in charge of Jerusalem affairs, said that the White House offered to remove the row of metal detectors and install a single detector at a side entrance, where people deemed suspicious or people carrying parcels could be examined. According to a report by Army Radio, Kader said Jordan as well as Saudi Arabia were pressuring Israel to find a solution that would restore calm to the Temple Mount.