Palestinians riot outside Temple Mount for second night in row

Palestinians again rioted in Jerusalem overnight, vowing to escalate the violence against Israel.

Palestinian rioters clashed with Israeli police on Tuesday night in Jerusalem’s Old City for the second night in a row.

The rioters are protesting the new security measures Israel introduced at the holy site in wake of Friday’s terrorist attack which left two Israel policemen dead.

A police spokesman said that after the Muslim evening prayers, held by the worshipers outside the Temple Mount compound who refused to pass through metal detectors to reach the Al-Aqsa Mosque, rioters attacked Israeli forces officers with bottles and stones, and were in turn dispersed by the forces using crowd control ordinance.

Two Israeli police officers were lightly injured in the violence, while Palestinians sources claim that dozens of rioters were injured as well.

Islamic officials have condemned the security measures installed by Israel at the site, saying they will not submit to the new arrangements, calling it “collective punishment and a violation of the status quo at the site.”

The Waqf, Jordan’s Islamic Trust, which manages religious affairs at the site, has been boycotting the Temple Mount, refusing to adhere to new security procedures introduced by the Israeli police following Friday’s attack. They called on other Muslim worshipers to follow suit, but hundreds nevertheless prayed at the holy site.

On Tuesday night, worshipers were joined by several Israeli-Arab lawmakers from the Joint Arab List. Member of Knesset (MK) Ahmed Tibi said the metal detectors should be removed, calling them a provocation that “alters the status quo.”

“[Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu is insisting on this provocation and will bear responsibility for any deterioration here or in the region,” Tibi said. “In addition to harming the Palestinians, the measures also harm the special Jordanian status regarding the holy sites.”

Meanwhile, Israel’s security forces are on high alert following a call by Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party on Wednesday for a “day of rage” in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria to protest Israel’s presence on the Temple Mount.

Friday prayers will be conducted in public squares in Palestinian cities to denounce Israeli “terrorist procedures” in Jerusalem, Fatah announced.

By: World Israel News Staff and TPS