East Jerusalem Witnesses Tense Calm

A tense calm befell East Jerusalem Friday morning as heavy Israeli security forces are on high alert in anticipation of a possible violence when Palestinians go for prayer services at their holy shrines.

One week after the bloody clashes last Friday on the Temple Mount inside the Old City of Jerusalem, a great many of Israeli policemen are patrolling in the streets and lanes of the Old City.

The passway leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount has been sealed off except for the mobility of police vehicles.

The militant Palestinian Hamas movement had call for a "Day of Rage" on Friday to mark the bloody shooting at the Palestinians on the Temple Mount last Friday, which killed four Palestinians and injured more than 200. The clashes later spread to the West Bank and Gaza, killing about 70 people, mostly Palestinians, and injuring nearly 2,000 in the past seven days.

The plaza in front of the Jewish holy site, the Western Wall, lying west to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, witnessed no Jews coming for prayers Friday. However, the outskirts of the plaza see a full array of security vehicles and police dogs ready for emergencies.

Israeli army and police forces have also taken their positions on the top of the buildings neighboring the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third most important Islamic holy site.

As a result of the closure imposed by Israel on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip since early Friday morning, there are much fewer Muslims coming for Friday prayers. There are also scarcely any civilians travelling in East Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has ordered a closure barring Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza from entering Israel.

The closure order went effective at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT) Friday and will last till the end of the two-day Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur on Monday.

Israel deployed heavy security forces in certain possible flashpoints, particularly in Jerusalem, after Hamas warned in a statement on Thursday that "Friday will be a day of distinct escalation and clashes."

Marwan Barghouteh, the leader of the Fatah, the mainstream faction of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), said his movement has similarly called for demonstrations "to commemorate the one week after the Al-Aqsa massacre."

He said Fatah would continue demonstrating until Palestinian demands are met.

West Bank Preventive Security Service chief Jibril Rajoub also urged Israel to refrain from shooting at Palestinian demonstrators.

There were a remarkable decrease in the number of clashes in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip Thursday as compared to that in the past seven days following a verbal agreement between the two sides on a ceasefire and the Israeli pullback of tanks from the clash areas.

However, there were several skirmishes on Thursday afternoon, during which at least two Palestinians were killed and 11 injured.

Barak on Thursday vowed again to make an all-out effort to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians in the coming weeks and called on Palestinian leader Arafat to take measures to stop the violence on the Palestinian side.



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