|
Violence Renews Despite High-Level Palestinian-Israeli Meeting
WASHINGTON (IslamOnline) - Israeli authorities restricted thousands of Muslim Palestinian worshipers from entering al-Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) for Friday prayer, igniting clashes between stone throwing Palestinians and bullet shooting Israeli security forces.
The restriction applied to Palestinians from the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank, although Israeli authorities announced they would permit 20 Palestinian-filled busses to enter the holy site. Only one bus from Gaza, and two from the West Bank, arrived, according to reports by Israeli army radio.
Stone throwing protestors were met by Israeli police stun grenades and rubber bullets. Reports said at least seven Palestinians were arrested following the riot, with many more arrests by Israeli undercover police. Two Israeli policemen were injured on the day.
The Israeli authority has been applying an age and residency restriction on Palestinians who wished to enter the third holiest site in Islam.
Earlier, a meeting between Yasser Arafat and acting Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami took place late Thursday night and into the early hours of Friday morning in an attempt to reach some sort of a truce agreement.
The talks mainly discussed the Israeli curfew over Palestinian cities and the lifting of the economic blockade over the occupied territories.
The meeting took place at the Erez check point between Israel and the Gaza Strip. A Palestinian official said it was too early to talk of full-scale peace negotiations, but that the meeting was discussing the possibility of reaching a truce.
Ben Ami mentioned prior to the meeting that the Israeli side is willing to resume peace talks, but only if the violence, which they blame on Palestinians, comes to a complete halt.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who resigned last week but will remain in office till the coming elections in February, faces fierce competition from Likud Party probable primary nominee former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose popularity is on the rise among Israelis.
Political analysts believe Barak needs to reach an agreement with the Palestinians to save his political future as Prime Minister before the election.
Meanwhile, at least six Palestinians were shot dead through the early hours of Friday by the Israeli forces, according to Palestinian Authority (PA) officials and hospital records.
Three, believed to be part of Fatah, were shot near the town of Burin in the West Bank. Although Israeli authorities deny responsibility, PA officials said Israeli police handed over to them the bodies.
Three others were shot dead in different incidents. One of them was a 17-year-old shot by a live bullet while throwing stones in the town of Hares near Nablus. The fourth was a Palestinian policeman shot dead near Ramallah with another Palestinian was shot near Erez checkpoint.
|
