Police scuffle with worshipers outside Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on 1st night of Ramadan
Officers seen assailing some with batons at entrance to Temple Mount, accused of blocking entry to some Israeli citizens in contravention of PM’s promise
While thousands of Muslim worshipers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem to pray on the first night of the holy month of Ramadan Sunday, police officers scuffled with some attendees at the entrance to the flashpoint Temple Mount site, a video circulating on social media showed.
Police were also accused of denying some Arab Israelis entry to the site, in violation of a promise made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to enable free access to Muslim citizens.
The footage showed Israeli Border Police officers assailing some visitors with batons at the entrance to the compound. In response to the video, Israel Police said it was working to “enable freedom of worship on the Temple Mount while at the same time ensuring safety and security, in accordance with instructions given by the political leadership.”
Police said “increased inspection was carried out in the area” to detect threats and “prevent potential criminals, instigators and violators of public order, for the sake of public peace and security, and the proper observance of Ramadan prayers.”
Netanyahu pledged last week that the number of worshipers allowed to pray on the Temple Mount in the first week of Ramadan would be the same as in previous years and that no restrictions would be imposed on Arab Israelis, overruling the reported wishes of ultranationalist firebrand National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the Israel Police.
Most of the Arab population of Jerusalem, however, does not hold Israeli citizenship, and can therefore be subject to stricter limitations.
The Abraham Initiatives, a coexistence organization, said that some citizens were in fact blocked and accused police of ignoring Netanyahu’s directives.
“Netanyahu has to impose order and calm surrounding Al-Aqsa,” the group said. “The numerous reports of blocking entrance to Israeli citizens on the first night of Ramadan stand in complete contrast to the decision made by the prime minister.
“The footage of police beating worshipers with batons is embarrassing and difficult to countenance,” the statement said, calling on Netanyahu to act urgently and allow freedom of worship.
Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai was reportedly looking to limit attendance “in the initial stage” of Ramadan, assessing that younger Arabs, whether Israeli or from East Jerusalem, are the main “agitators.”
התחלה רעה מאוד לרמדאן. שוטרים מכים באלות מתפללים בשער אלאקצא לפני תפילת התראוויח הראשונה.
שוב הוכח מי ראש הממשלה האמיתי במדינה הזו. pic.twitter.com/KIyhysCzUn— نير حسون Nir Hasson ניר חסון (@nirhasson) March 10, 2024
Photos and videos filmed Sunday night and shared on X showed groups of young Muslim men who were refused access to the Al-Aqsa compound praying in the alleys leading to it, and outside the walls of the Old City.
The Haaretz daily reported that hundreds of young Palestinians were prevented from accessing the site but that some managed to enter the compound with their parents or when police eased entrance procedures due to pressure at barriers at the entrances.
According to the report, thousands of Muslim worshipers prayed at the site Sunday, with their numbers expected to swell over the coming days to reach tens of thousands on Friday.
Ramadan began Sunday night as the war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza, and a deadlock in negotiations on a temporary truce and hostage release deal, cast a somber mood on normally festive preparations by Muslims and ratcheted up fears of violence.
Thousands of police have been deployed around the narrow streets of the Old City in Jerusalem, where tens of thousands of worshipers are expected every day at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam. The compound sits atop the Temple Mount, the holiest place in Judaism, where the two biblical temples stood.
The sacred Ramadan month, which sees those observing abstain from food and water from sunrise to sunset, marks a period of religious reflection, family get-togethers and alms-giving across the Muslim world. Religious authorities in Saudi Arabia saw the crescent moon Sunday night, meaning Monday is the first day of the fast in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, as well as much of the rest of the Muslim world, though others, like Jordan, will begin the holy month Tuesday.
Israeli security officials fear that Muslim anger over the Gaza war could rise to a crescendo during Ramadan, fueling unrest. Hamas branded its October 7 massacre in Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 taken hostage, as the “Al-Aqsa Flood,” and has attempted to link its slaughter in southern Israel to the disputed Jerusalem holy site.
Police said earlier Sunday that terror groups were attempting to stir up unrest in the capital around Ramadan by spreading “false information regarding the reality in Jerusalem, the Old City and in particular the Temple Mount.”
A statement said that 20 East Jerusalem residents had been arrested on suspicion of incitement and support for terrorism over the past two weeks.
