Israeli Police Shut Down Al-Aqsa Mosque to Worshippers

Israeli troops attack Palestinian worshipper in al-Aqsa mosque compound. President Mahmoud Abbas fully supports the enforcement of calm in the Gaza Strip, Monday said PLO Executive Committee Member, Saeb Erekat. In a meeting with the Norwegian special envoy to the peace process, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, Erekat said, 'We must make every possible effort to instill calm and ensure its continuity.' He praised the efforts of Egypt and the UN to stop the Israeli attacks on Gaza and implement the calm. Erekat, in a press release published on Monday, noted the increased Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip and the widespread operation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where Israel injured and arrested dozens of Palestinians, put up checkpoints, closed down and imposed siege on several areas in what he called 'a dangerous escalation.'

He stressed the Palestinian persistence to seek United Nations full membership of a Palestinian state within 1967 borders in September, saying 'the Israeli government is delusional if it thinks the dangerous escalation will derail the Palestinian train to the UN off its track, for achieving membership of the Palestinian state within 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital has become the only way to preserve the peace process and the two-state principle, as well as to make Israel a moderate force that is held accountable,' he added.

More than 55 Palestinians were injured in Israeli raids on Hebron governorate south of the West Bank on Sunday night and early Monday, said medical sources. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that over 55 Palestinians were injured by rubber bullets, tear gas and physical assault during Israeli raids and clashes that broke out around Hebron city and neighboring towns, in a further escalation of the Israeli military campaign on the Palestinian Territory following the death of eight Israelis in an armed shooting attack in southern Israel last Thursday. Israeli soldiers conducted an explosion inside the house of Mahmoud Qawasmi, who has been in Israeli prison for seven years, damaging the house contents, terrorizing its eight residents and detaining them for several hours.

Over 20 Israeli army vehicles headed to Abu Katileh valley northwest of Hebron, imposed a strict military cordon around the area, detained and interrogated dozens of Palestinians, raided several houses and prevented ambulances from getting through. Meanwhile, clashes broke out between Palestinian youth and Israeli soldiers around the Palestinian-Israeli demarcation lines, where Palestinians threw stones and empty glass bottles at Israeli soldiers, who responded with gunfire and tear gas. Israeli reinforcements clashed with Palestinians in Tariq Ibn Ziyad junction south of the city and chased them. No arrests were reported. The Israeli raids extended to reach Halhoul, Dora and al-Dhahiriyyah towns north and south of Hebron governorate.

In other news, Israeli police Sunday night closed Damascus Gate, one of the main gates of the Old City of Jerusalem, as well as Al-Aqsa Mosque with the worshippers locked inside following rumors of stabbing of an Israeli policeman during a protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza, witnesses said. While the Israeli police did not confirm the stabbing incident, police nevertheless used force to disperse the protesters and detained a number of them at the Russian compound in West Jerusalem. The protest started at Damascus Gate and proceeded through Sultan Suleiman Street, but police intervened to break it up before it got to Salah Eddin Street, East Jerusalem's main business area. Police assaulted Palestinian medical staff and ambulance crews who tried to give assistance to people beaten up by police, said the witnesses.

In a later development, Al-Aqsa guards told WAFA that Israeli police provoked worshippers who were trying to hold the Monday dawn prayers at the Mosque, raising level of tension in the occupied city. sraeli police had declared a high state of alert in Jerusalem on Sunday following reports of possible attack in the city. Police set up road barricades throughout the city, causing heavy traffic jams. The alert level was lowered Monday morning. Witnesses said large numbers of Israeli border guards and police raided the Old City of Jerusalem and its neighborhoods at dawn, which is suspected to be part of the Israeli police training to face the potential consequences of September and the Palestinian bid to the United Nations.

Additionally, Israeli soldiers Monday imposed strict military restrictions on Bethlehem governorate, putting up checkpoints along the main roads and impeding Palestinians' movement, said security sources. Israeli soldiers stationed at the “Container” checkpoint, which links the north of the West Bank to the south, are obstructing and inspecting Palestinian vehicles, creating a mass traffic jam on both sides of the checkpoint and preventing Palestinians from reaching their places of work. In a related matter, Israeli soldiers Monday morning put up a checkpoint on the main road between Beit Sahour and Al-Ubeidiya, towns east of Bethlehem. Soldiers obstructed Palestinian vehicles' movement, inspected the vehicles and checked passengers' IDs.

In regards to the recognition of a Palestinian State at the UN this September, Thailand will recognize a Palestinian state when it comes up for a vote in September, Monday said Nabil Shaath, member of Fatah Central Committee. Shaath discussed in a meeting with the Thai foreign minister, Pisamo Fagan, Palestinian plans to seek UN recognition of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, urging it support the Palestinian bid. The Fatah official, on a mission by President Mahmoud Abbas to get as many world support for the Palestinian state as possible, will also visit India and Russia to discuss and coordinate political stances regarding the Palestinians’ September plans.