UPDATE ON OCTOBER 25 EVENTS AT THE TEMPLE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001949 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, IPA, AND SEMEP; NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2024 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KPAL KISL IS JO SUBJECT: UPDATE ON OCTOBER 25 EVENTS AT THE TEMPLE MOUNT/HARAM AL-SHARIF Classified By: CG Daniel Rubinstein, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Skirmishes took place between Muslim worshippers and the Israeli National Police (INP) around the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound on October 25, apparently triggered by rumors of an impending incursion into the compound by radical pro-settler elements. Unrest spread into Palestinian neighborhoods and lasted through the day. No radical settler groups actually entered the compound. The INP used stun grenades, tear gas, and rubber bullets inside the compound, in parts of the Old City,s Muslim Quarter, and in at least one Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, where local youth set tires ablaze and hurled stones. Later in the day, a number of pro-settler Israeli religious and political figures called for an increased Jewish presence at the site. These clashes were greater in scope and intensity than other recent incidents. End Summary. PROTESTERS BATTLE POLICE AT TEMPLE MOUNT/HARAM AL-SHARIF -------------- ¶2. (C) Clashes on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound broke out October 25 around 8:00 a.m. local time, when protestors heeded calls by Islamic leaders to &protect8 the al-Aqsa Mosque from a rumored incursion into the site by radical pro-settler elements, according to ConGen contacts and press reports. Approximately 200 Muslim worshippers entered the site before the INP closed its gates. They hurled stones and wooden Koran stands at the police from inside the al-Aqsa Mosque. Police responded with stun grenades and tear gas. Abd al-Athim Salhab of the Islamic Council told PolOff that roughly 500 INP personnel entered the compound; other contacts estimated higher numbers. According to press statements by Palestinian Red Crescent Society officials, 22 protestors were wounded in the day's events; Israeli press reported nine INP personnel were also injured. ¶3. (C) Waqf security official Muhammad Abu Kataysh told PolOff that the INP did not enter the al-Aqsa Mosque, but confirmed press reports that they cut electricity to the mosque to prevent use of loudspeakers. Several Waqf officials told us that the INP closed gates to the site on several occasions throughout the morning as skirmishes inside the compound continued. Kataysh also claimed that the INP "roughed up" several other Waqf officials and guards. Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, Director of the Waqf, told PolOff mid-afternoon October 25 that the Jordanian government was negotiating with the GOI on behalf of the Waqf to reopen the gates and withdraw the INP from the compound. The skirmishes ended by mid-afternoon. ¶4. (SBU) Demonstrators inside the compound, according to ConGen contacts, largely belonged to a Muslim community descended from Africans who immigrated to Jerusalem when it was under Jordanian control; most live in a nearby part of the Old City and refer to themselves as Palestinians. Other Jerusalem I.D. holders and some Israeli Arabs reportedly were also present. INP spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said that the police turned back several busloads of Arabs from northern Israel en route to Jerusalem to &defend8 the mosque. Former Palestinian Authority Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Hatem Abd al-Qader was among 20 Palestinians detained over the course of the day. RUMORS FUEL FEARS OF &JEWISH TAKEOVER8 -------------- ¶5. (U) Earlier in the week, Palestinian press reported that the al-Aqsa Foundation had warned of a Jewish visit to the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound to conduct religious rites. (According to Israeli press, this was to commemorate the anniversary of the legendary visit of medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides to the site.) The foundation in turn cited reports on Hebrew-language websites affiliated with pro-settler groups, calling for demonstrations on the compound to protest their being prevented from entering a week earlier at the close of the Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) holiday. Kamal Khatib of the Israeli Islamic Movement said that dozens of worshippers would be willing to stay on the plaza to &protect8 the mosque. On Sunday, local Palestinian newspapers al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida both ran front-page stories of an impending increase in INP presence around the compound, and local religious movements called on supporters to protect the mosque from "Israeli occupation." ¶6. (U) On the evening of October 25, a number of prominent JERUSALEM 00001949 002 OF 002 rabbis and politicians associated with the settler movement gathered in Jerusalem and called for Jews to enter the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound with greater frequency and assert Israeli control there. VIOLENCE SPREADS TO NEARBY PALESTINIAN NEIGHBORHOODS -------------- ¶7. (U) Skirmishes spread through parts of the Old City's Muslim Quarter and into at least one Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem (Ras al-Amud) during the day. Post contacts observed several burning tires and Palestinian youth throwing stones at the INP in the Muslim Quarter. Police responded by firing tear gas and rubber-coated bullets. In Ras al-Amud, Jerusalem I.D. holders burned tires and threw rocks at Israeli police. COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) The clashes on October 25 were greater in scope and intensity than previous recent disturbances. While no radical pro-settler groups actually entered the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound, the event demonstrated how rumors can be enough to set off a day of unrest, so great are the sensitivities around the site. The increased frequency of these disturbances -- and the higher pitch of rhetoric on all sides -- is troubling, and is reminding many of the situation on the eve of the disturbances in September 2000, which eventually became the Second Intifada. RUBINSTEIN