3 cops, Palestinian rioter hurt in Jerusalem clash
BY TIMES OF ISRAEL
order Police open fire on rioters after their vehicle is hit by a petrol bomb in Jabel Mukaber neighborhood”
Three Border Police officers and a Palestinian rioter were injured Friday afternoon in a clash in the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem.
Israel Police said that the incident began when Border Police deployed in the East Talpiot area came under a deluge of petrol bombs and stones.
The security forces chased the rioters into the adjacent Jabel Mukaber neighborhood, where they were met by large numbers of young men who had set fire to tires and a garbage dumpster, and who then clashed with the Border Police officers.
The rioters threw a patrol bomb at the Border Police vehicle, wounding the three officers. The police fired into the air and at the rioters who threw the petrol bombs. Three people were arrested.
“During clashes with Border Police and residents of Jabel Mukaber, protesters blocked several streets with burning tires, and garbage dumpsters,” the police statement said.
“A number of fire bombs were hurled at security forces who arrived to disperse protesters. A number of injuries have been reported.”
The force, having dispersed the rioters, then returned to the entrance to Jabel Mukaber, where they were treated by members of the Magen David Adom rescue service. Three police officers were taken with light injuries to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center, and the detainee, who was in moderate condition, was taken to Shaare Zedek hospital.
Magen David Adom said Friday evening that its personnel provided medical care near Jabel Mukaber for four wounded people following the shooting incident. It said the injured included a 25-year-old man who was evacuated to Shaare Zedek with moderate to serious injuries to his lower body and another person with light-to-moderate wounds to the hand.
The clashes took place close to the site where an Israeli man was killed Sunday night when he lost control of his car after it was hit by stones.
In further violence Friday, some 200 Palestinians rioted near the Damascus Gate, having been barred from prayers at the Temple Mount, where Israeli security officials restricted entry to men over 40 and women. Stones were also hurled at security forces in various locations around the city.
Meanwhile, in an unusual move, the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee convened an emergency session and okayed the call-up of Border Police reservists.
The UN Security Council late Thursday night expressed “grave concern” over the tensions and urged restraint. The council statement said Muslims at the site “must be allowed to worship in peace, free from violence, threats and provocations.”
It also said that “visitors should be without fear of violence or intimidation.”
Police preparations for violence during Friday prayers came after Thursday and Wednesday offered some respite from three consecutive days of violence near al-Aqsa Mosque from Sunday, the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and until Tuesday when the holiday ended. There were minor incidents in Jerusalem on Thursday, including stones thrown at a bus, which was then set alight.
The violence began Sunday when police, acting on a tip from the Shin Bet security service, raided the mount and found pipe bombs and other improvised weapons, apparently prepared in advance for an organized riot.
AP contributed to this report.