With Gaza under fire, tensions run high in Jerusalem's Old City

Tensions ran high in Jerusalem Old City on the Muslim day of prayer and rest Friday, as Israel’s nearly week-old war against Palestinian militant group Hamas raged in and around Gaza.

The usually bustling alleyways of the Muslim quarter were nearly deserted, except for young Palestinians unsuccessfully attempting to break through an Israeli checkpoint barring them from the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, a flashpoint in the city’s annexed eastern sector.

The war erupted on Saturday, when Hamas militants from Gaza stormed the border and attacked communities in southern Israel, killing more than 1,300 people, most of them civilians.

The militants also abducted around 150 Israelis, dual nationals and foreigners for use as hostages.

Retaliatory strikes on Gaza have killed at least 1,900 people, 614 of them children, and caused mass displacement.

Israeli authorities have since denied entry by those aged under 55 to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site and a symbol of Palestinian national as well as religious pride.

“It’s because of what happened,” said Abu Ahmad, 62, a resident of east Jerusalem’s Shuafat neighborhood with a thick grey beard and red prayer mat thrown over his shoulder.

When asked if Hamas was responsible for the situation, he lowered his head and said: “I don’t want to talk about it but killing children is wrong.”

An old blind man in a suit leaning on a cane slowly approached the checkpoint.

The police officers manning it observed him for a brief moment and then stepped aside to let him enter the compound.

A group of young girls then took on the police, screaming at the officers towering over them as they tried to push their way through.

Men well below the age limit set by Israel for entry to the compound gathered on the main street leading from Damascus Gate, the largest of the walled Old City’s eight entrances.

The police shouted angrily at the men, until an officer speaking in Arabic firmly ordered all the would-be worshippers to disperse.

“They can go pray in Gaza if they want,” said another, as a tall metal barrier was erected in seconds, completely blocking off access to the holy site.

Officers patrolled the streets, their fingers on the trigger, demanding that passers-by present their ID cards.

In the Palestinian neighborhood of Wadi Joz, a few kilometers (a couple of miles) to the east, police dispersed worshippers with water cannons and tear gas after they attempted to pray on the street.

Riad, a 52-year-old shopkeeper, was among those who could not pray. He nervously fiddled with a string of prayer beads inscribed with the 99 names of Allah.

“It will last a long time,” he said. “Until the Jews have avenged the spilt blood of their children.”

by Patrick ANIDJAR