Israeli Public Defense Minister Gilad Erdan decided to establish a 200-strong special police force in Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, according to Israeli media. “The Temple Mount Unit will be equipped with advanced technology and will gather intelligence in order to protect visitors to the holy site,” Erdan was quoted as saying by The Jerusalem Post daily. “The unit will include approximately 200 policemen, in which 100 will be specially recruited to the police in the course of the next year,” he said. The Israeli minister said the plan came “as a result of conclusions drawn” following a shootout on the flashpoint compound in June in which two Israeli policemen were killed. Three Palestinians were also killed in the gun battle.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which the Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. In a move never recognized by the international community, it annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as the Jewish state’s “eternal and undivided” capital. The Temple Mount is central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with Palestinians fearing Israel may one day seek to assert further control over it. It is located in east Jerusalem which was occupied by Israel in 1967 and later annexed in a move never recognized by the international community. It is considered the third holiest site in Islam and the most sacred site for Jews. Jews are allowed to visit the compound but cannot pray there to avoid provoking tensions.
Source: https://www.dailysabah.com/mideast/2017/11/02/israel-to-set-up-special-p…
