Israeli police on highest at Temple Mount
12/11/2004 19:30
For fear of possible riots, Israeli police and security forces have
imposed restrictions on entrance to the Temple Mount in the Old City of
Jerusalem on Friday.
The police's chief concern, apart from a
spectacular terror attack, is that riots will break out on the Temple Mount on
the last day of Ramadan, close to the time of Arafat's burial.
Security
forces allow only women and men over 45 with Israeli identity cards to go to the
Temple Mount on Friday. Some 5,000 policemen and soldiers are deployed on the
Holy place in East Jerusalem.
The police are preparing for probable
scenarios, including riots by tens of thousands of worshipers who could enter
Jewish neighborhoods, en route from the Temple Mount to the funeral procession
in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
On Friday morning, dozens of
Palestinians attempted to force their way into the Temple Mount, but were
stopped by police guarding the entrances. The incident was limited in its scope
and did not involve any stone throwing.
Earlier on Friday, police forces
dispersed hundreds of Palestinians at the entrance to the Shuafat refugee camp
north of Jerusalem. No casualties were reported.
Late Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat's coffin was flown out from Cairo to Ramallah on Friday morning
after a funeral service held in Egypt's Al-Jalaa military compound, some 5 km
away from the Cairo International Airport, which was attended by world leaders
and representatives from some 80 countries and organizations.
Xinhua
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