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TEL AVIV, July 1: Israelis and foreign tourists have recently been allowed to visit the Temple Mount compound, or the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, for the first time since the outbreak of the intifada in Sept 2000, military radio said on Monday.
Authorization for the visits by about 20 groups over the past several weeks came from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the internal security minister, Tzahi Hanegbi, and the police, said the report.
However, Jewish extremists who want to rebuild a Jewish temple on the site located in the annexed eastern sector of occupied Al Quds have not been allowed to enter, it said.
Israeli public television added that the recent visits had taken place “discreetly” and with police protection.
The initiative for these visits came from police chief Micky Levy, who felt the end of the US-led invasion of Iraq had produced a “change of atmosphere” in mostly the holy city.
The Waqf — or Islamic trust running the site — has been informed on the visits, which have taken place without incident, it added.
ABBAS SLAMS MOVE: Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas criticised the Israeli decision, adding he would raise the issue in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
“This is a provocative position that will take us back to the absolutely unjustified provocations,” Mr Abbas said, alluding to Sharon’s visit to the Old City compound in Sept 2000 when he was Israel’s opposition leader.
Violent protests in the wake of Mr Sharon’s visit marked the start of the intifada.
Palestinians said then that Sharon’s visit was the spark that set off the uprising.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas said in a statement issued in Beirut that it regarded the renewed visits “as a flagrant attack on the holy places of our people and Muslim nation, and we warn the Zionist enemy against continuing with this step, and hold it responsible for the consequences.
“We call on the proud Palestinian people, especially in Jerusalem (Al Quds), to thwart this Zionist step and keep it from being carried out, and to defend Al Aqsa mosque with all their efforts and capabilities.”
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, speaking to reporters outside his West Bank headquarters, accused Israel of allowing Jewish extremists into the site under the guise of tourism.
“This is a conspiracy that started in the last month under the pretext of tourism,” Mr Arafat said. “But they are extremists who seek to harm Haram al Sharif.”
The Grand Mufti of the holy city, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, said the doors of the compound were closed to tourists as a precautionary measure against any attempt to harm the mosques. —Reuters
