Israeli Police Shoot Palestinian Woman

On the background of his recent meeting in Berlin with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu released a statement in which he states in line with the status quo, non-Muslims may pray on Hat Habayis.

Abbas said one cause of the flare-up is Israel’s refusal to honor an arrangement dating back to 1875 governing a sensitive holy site in Jerusalem that is revered by both Jews and Muslims.

The hilltop compound, home to the biblical Jewish Temples, is the holiest site in Judaism.

Following Kerry’s proposal to install around-the-clock video surveillance cameras at the compound, a step which was praised by Netanyahu, Director-General of al-Aqsa Affairs, demanded that the cameras be connected to the Internet so that the world can see the truth about what is happening in the al-Aqsa Mosque, a demand which was backed by both Jordan and US Kerry.

Clashes erupted during a series of Jewish religious holidays in September as an increase in visits by Jews raised fears among Muslims that Israel was planning to change the rules. “Israel has an interest in placing cameras around the Temple Mount”, to counter the Palestinian claim that it is altering the status quo. “Secondly, to show where the provocations are really coming from, and prevent them in advance”, he said.

A senior Palestinian official told the Haaretz newspaper that the security situation would help the bid for an Israeli withdrawal.

Since the start of this month, eight Israelis have died in attacks.

But a Jordanian intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue with reporters, said the arrangements announced by Kerry have not yet been discussed in detail.

Israel has accused Palestinian political and religious leaders of spreading lies and inciting violence. Israeli police already maintain hundreds of security cameras in Jerusalem’s Old City.

The violence continued Sunday.

Issa Amer, director of Youth Against Settlements, a Palestinian nonprofit that monitors and documents settler violence and military activity in Hebron, said the group had no information on this specific incident, but “the woman had to go through two metal detectors and revolving doors”.

Earlier in the day, two Palestinians stabbed an Israeli near the Gush Etzion Jewish settlement block in the West Bank, wounding him moderately, the Israeli military said.

Around half were killed as a result of being identified as perpetrators of attacks, the rest during clashes with Israeli forces at flash-points in East Jerusalem, the Occupied West Bank and the Gaza border, in which live fire and rubber-coated steel bullets have been used against demonstrators. “It was never anything other than a mosque”.

The latest developments in a wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence (all times local).

“We look forward to an independent state of Palestine living side by side with the state of Israel”, Abbas said. The Palestinians are seeking a United Nations Security Council resolution endorsing their positions, along with a timeline for establishment of an independent state.

On Friday, Israel lifted age restrictions barring young men from joining prayers at the mosque, a key source of tension, and prayers passed without incident. In the past month, violent confrontations have led to the death of at least 50 Palestinians and nine Israelis.

He said he was convinced this would “put an end to violence, calm tension and I hope it will contribute to reviving efforts to resolve the fundamental questions through negotiations”. “I think there is a good chance that the US will wind up doing something… before the end of Obama’s term”.