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dpa
Gaza City
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City reopened for Jewish visitors on Sunday, days after a ceasefire came into force between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza.
Violence between Palestinians and Israeli security forces at the site - which is sacred to both Muslims and Jews, and referred to by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary - contributed to increasing tensions before the outbreak of the military conflict in and around Gaza.
The unrest earlier in May was triggered by Palestinian anger about Israeli police blockades in the Old City during the fasting month of Ramadan.
The confrontations meant that, for Ramadan, no Jewish visitors were allowed in to the Temple Mount. But Ramadan ended more than a week ago, while access was restored on Sunday.
The decision to renew access for Jewish visitors comes as tensions in Jerusalem remain high.
Israeli police said they had arrested 33 people overnight.
Palestinian emergency sources said 15 people had been injured by rubber bullets in clashes with Israeli security forces on Friday.
Israeli police said hundreds of young people threw stones and incendiary devices at them.
Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing witnesses, said many Palestinians had been arrested in their homes in East Jerusalem and the Old City, including near the al-Aqsa Mosque in the Noble Sanctuary.
In a sign of confidence that the ceasefire between Israel and the militant Hamas in Gaza would continue to hold, government offices in Gaza resumed their work on Sunday, a spokesperson for the local government said.
Local government activities had ceased when Israeli airstrikes began on May 10 in response to rockets fired at Jerusalem. In Gaza, Islamist Hamas controls the administration.
The airstrikes targeted Hamas military infrastructure and also caused extensive destruction to residential and high-rise buildings, health facilities and other public buildings, bringing the daily life of the more than 2 million inhabitants of the impoverished coastal strip to a standstill.
A ceasefire has been in place since Friday, ending 11 days of Israeli air raids and Palestinian rocket fire that left more than 240 people dead in Gaza, including 66 minors, and claimed 12 lives in Israel.
Israeli Finance Minister Israel Katz warned on Sunday that any further rocket attacks from Gaza would bring a much stronger reaction from Israel.
“For every attack on the south, there would have to be targeting killings of Hamas leaders and firing on Hamas targets,” he told a radio broadcaster.
Gaza City
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City reopened for Jewish visitors on Sunday, days after a ceasefire came into force between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza.
Violence between Palestinians and Israeli security forces at the site - which is sacred to both Muslims and Jews, and referred to by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary - contributed to increasing tensions before the outbreak of the military conflict in and around Gaza.
The unrest earlier in May was triggered by Palestinian anger about Israeli police blockades in the Old City during the fasting month of Ramadan.
The confrontations meant that, for Ramadan, no Jewish visitors were allowed in to the Temple Mount. But Ramadan ended more than a week ago, while access was restored on Sunday.
The decision to renew access for Jewish visitors comes as tensions in Jerusalem remain high.
Israeli police said they had arrested 33 people overnight.
Palestinian emergency sources said 15 people had been injured by rubber bullets in clashes with Israeli security forces on Friday.
Israeli police said hundreds of young people threw stones and incendiary devices at them.
Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing witnesses, said many Palestinians had been arrested in their homes in East Jerusalem and the Old City, including near the al-Aqsa Mosque in the Noble Sanctuary.
In a sign of confidence that the ceasefire between Israel and the militant Hamas in Gaza would continue to hold, government offices in Gaza resumed their work on Sunday, a spokesperson for the local government said.
Local government activities had ceased when Israeli airstrikes began on May 10 in response to rockets fired at Jerusalem. In Gaza, Islamist Hamas controls the administration.
The airstrikes targeted Hamas military infrastructure and also caused extensive destruction to residential and high-rise buildings, health facilities and other public buildings, bringing the daily life of the more than 2 million inhabitants of the impoverished coastal strip to a standstill.
A ceasefire has been in place since Friday, ending 11 days of Israeli air raids and Palestinian rocket fire that left more than 240 people dead in Gaza, including 66 minors, and claimed 12 lives in Israel.
Israeli Finance Minister Israel Katz warned on Sunday that any further rocket attacks from Gaza would bring a much stronger reaction from Israel.
“For every attack on the south, there would have to be targeting killings of Hamas leaders and firing on Hamas targets,” he told a radio broadcaster.
