Arab League says Israel risks igniting 'religious war' over Jerusalem holy sites
The Arab League claims Israel is "playing with fire" over its attempts to control highly sensitive religious sites in Jerusalem.
Thursday 27 July 2017 21:25, UK
Israel has been warned it risks sparking a "religious war" in its attempts to control highly sensitive religious sites in Jerusalem.
Ahmed Abul Gheit, the head of the Arab League, said Israel is "playing with fire, and will only ignite a religious war and shift the core of the conflict from politics to religion".
His comments, which Israel has not yet responded to, came after clashes broke out between Israeli police and Palestinian worshippers at a contested Jerusalem shrine after the site reopened following a Muslim prayer boycott.
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as Palestinians threw stones inside the walled compound, which is holy to Muslims and Jews.
It is known as the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims and to Jews as the Temple Mount.
A total of 37 Palestinians have been injured with some suffering beatings and others being hit by rubber bullets, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The group said several people had suffered broken bones.
Israeli police said officers had responded after stones were thrown at officers at the gates to the site.
The Red Crescent said tensions rose when Israeli troops closed one of the gates to the compound as a large crowd of worshippers tried to enter to pray at al Aqsa mosque for the first time in nearly two weeks.
The shrine has been at the centre of a stand-off over recent security measures introduced at the site by Israel, which have since been removed.
Metal detectors and security cameras were installed after Arab gunmen opened fire from inside the shrine and killed two Israeli police officers.
The attack has sparked the biggest escalation in violence between Israelis and Palestinians in two years.
A Palestinian man sneaked into a West Bank settlement home last week and killed three Israelis.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the family of the three victims on Thursday, and has called for the death penalty for the attacker.
Mr Netanyahu has ordered police reinforcements in Jerusalem after the latest unrest, and authorities are considering limiting entry of younger men in anticipation of mass protests around Friday prayers.
Palestinians had been praying in the streets outside the shrine in the Old City to protest against the increased security measures.
Once the security measures were removed, Muslim leaders told worshippers to return to pray at al Aqsa mosque in the compound.
Abdel Azim Salhab of the Waqf, Jordan's religious body that administers the site, has urged imams to close other Jerusalem mosques on Friday so worshippers will pray only at al Aqsa.
Mr Salhab said all security devices had been removed from the entrances, but added he did not know if security cameras that had been mounted on the wall of the compound were also dismantled.
King Abdullah of Jordan urged has Israel to "respect the historical and legal situation in the holy shrine to prevent the recurrence of these crises".
Jordan is the Muslim custodian of the shrine, which is the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. Muslims believe the site is where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.
Jews revere the hilltop compound because it is the site of two Jewish biblical temples. It is the holiest site in Judaism and the nearby Western Wall, a remnant of one of the temples, is the holiest place where Jews can pray.