Israeli Police Shut Down Al-Aqsa Mosque to Worshippers

JERUSALEM, August 22, 2011 (WAFA) – 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.

Israeli 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.

WAFA -