Israel gov't minister, supporters enter J'lem's Al-Aqsa

JERUSALEM

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout

Israeli Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel, along with a number of Israeli police and supporters, entered Jerusalem’s flashpoint on Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Thursday, according to a Palestinian official.

“Ariel forced his way into the mosque compound accompanied by a group of Jewish extremists,” Firas al-Dibs, a spokesman for Jerusalem’s Jordan-run Religious Endowments Authority (tasked with overseeing East Jerusalem’s Muslim and Christian holy sites), said in a statement.

Known for his right-wing views, Ariel has taken part in a number of earlier incursions into the mosque compound.

Last year, Israeli police issued an edict allowing Israeli politicians to enter the site once a month.

The tension in Jerusalem has mounted since February when Israeli police briefly sealed the Al-Rahma Gate (located adjacent to the eastern wall of Jerusalem's Old City) -- a move that sparked angry Palestinian demonstrations at the time.

In the two months since, the Israeli authorities have banned scores of Palestinians -- including religious officials -- from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, which Muslims regard as the world’s third holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

In late 2000, a visit to Al-Aqsa by controversial Israeli politician Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the "Second Intifada," a five-year-long popular uprising in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which the Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the territory in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.