Violence resumes in East Jerusalem as Israelis rally in western city
Despite Netanyahu's call to Knesset members to calm the situation, IED hurled at police in East Jerusalem; Arab attacks Jew at Old City gate.
Clashes and rioting resumed in Jerusalem on Saturday evening after a relatively quiet day and a call by Prime Minister Netanyahu for Knesset members to "show restraint and responsibility" on the issue of the Temple Mount.
In East Jerusalem, an improvised explosive device was thrown Saturday evening at police officers close to a mosque in the Shuafat neighborhood of East Jerusalem and fireworks were launched at police officers and Border Police in the Wadi Joz neighborhood. An Arab teenager was also arrested after attacking a Jew at the Damascus Gate entrance to the Old City. Riots erupted during the arrest, leaving one police officer lightly wounded.
Israel Police forces have had an increasing presence in the streets of the city, especially in the riotous area of East Jerusalem; they were "assisted" by the onset of winter weather, which slowed down the traffic of people around the city.
Meanwhile, about 200 Israelis gathered near Safra Square in western Jerusalem on Saturday night, calling for end to the harassment of Jews around the Temple Mount. They held prayers for the recovery of rightwing shooting victim Yehuda Glick.
Glick was shot Wednesday night by a terrorist named by police as a resident of East Jerusalem; he remains in hospital in serious condition. A slight improvement in his condition was noted over the weekend, however he is still sedated and on a respirator.
"I recommend you wait a few days and listen to Yehuda," said his wife Yaffah on Saturday night. "It's preferable that you listen to him speak about the freedom of worship for all religions at the Temple Mount. He best describes the distorted reality. The responsibility to enable freedom of worship for all lies with everyone," she said.
Glick's son Shachar called for his father's rehabilitation and said, "In the song of Hannah we read that in order to win you do not have to be strong but to be good."
Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Bayit Yehudi) said at the event, "Days after the release of the Temple Mount Jews were praying there and laying Tefillin, and there was nobody saying that it was not okay. So whoever is talking about a status quo – this is the status quo."
MK Moshe Feiglin (Likud) announced he would arrive at the Temple Mount on 8 am Sunday morning, and indirectly criticized the prime minister for his call to Knesset members to calm the issue. "There is nothing that ignites the situation in Jerusalem more other than saying we cannot go to the Temple Mount," he said.
In a sign of concern that the situation could escalate, Netanyahu on Saturday called in a statement for "all Knesset members to calm tensions regarding the Temple Mount and show responsibility and restraint."
Feiglin mentioned that praying at the Western Wall was once considered an incitement, and that Jews were not allowed to conduct basic rituals there.
He continued and said, "Whoever believes that quiet prayer at the Jewish people's holiest site in Israel is an incitement is the person who invites the violence. The Temple Mount is not the gun powder. The Temple Mount is a peaceful place."
He continued, "The recognition of such that the Temple Mount belongs to another nation, the statements by Israeli leadership that the return of Jews to the Temple Mount and God forbid the prayer at the site are an incitement – this itself is an invitation of explosive violence."
