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Jerusalem Violence Continues on Temple Mount

Violence on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount continued into Wednesday with the now familiar ritual of Palestinian youth barricading themselves into the Al-Aqsa Mosque from where they hurl rocks and Molotov cocktails at Israeli security personnel. In return, the Israelis toss tear gas and fire stun grenades. All the while, rhetoric among Israeli and Palestinian leaders becomes more toxic while international voices express condemnation of Israel for the measures it’s taking to restore calm. The violence is exacerbated by the visits to the Temple Mount – Haram Al-Sharif to Muslims – by Jews and Christians visiting for the Sukkot holiday. On Tuesday, rioting also took place at an Israeli checkpoint near the Palestinian city of Ramallah. Palestinian youth again hurled rocks, Molotov cocktails and fireworks and in return were the targets of tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon. The Palestinians accuse Israel of “Juda-izing” the Old City of Jerusalem despite Prime Minister Netanyahu’s promise to maintain the status quo in which non-Muslims are not permitted to pray on the holy site. Netanyahu argues that Palestinian leaders “tell lies” about Israel’s intentions for the Temple Mount as a tool for creating incitement. He said that in his UN speech on Thursday he will demand an end to such incitement.