(Jerusalem Post) Daniel K. Eisenbud and Tovah Lazaroff - The Egyptian Foreign Ministry in Cairo on Wednesday called in Ambassador Yaakov Amitai to protest the actions of Israeli police who had roughly removed three Egyptian diplomats and a Coptic priest from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Saturday night. They had gone to pray and witness the Holy Fire ceremony. According to Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor, the church was too crowded and police, who were trying to clear the area and were unaware of the Egyptians' identity, had "acted too vigorously in enforcing the law." Deputy Foreign Minister Ze'ev Elkin has apologized to the charge d'affairs at the Egyptian embassy in Israel. On Wednesday, Jordan summoned Ambassador Daniel Nevo to protest Israel's decision to limit the entrance of Muslim worshipers to the Temple Mount on Tuesday and to allow Jews to visit the compound on Jerusalem Day, which continued into Wednesday. Jordan was also angered by the detention of Jerusalem Mufti Muhammad Ahmad Hussein for inciting violence against Jews on the Temple Mount. On Wednesday, after two police officers arrested an Arab youth who yelled at Jewish visitors to the site, some 15 Muslims threw chairs at the officers, causing mild injuries. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Hussein "was questioned cautiously, carefully and respectfully for six hours by members of the Israeli Police Investigative Unit about serious incitement to cause disorder in the Temple Mount over the past few weeks." This followed a series of violent incidents against Israelis and Christian visitors in which Hussein was implicated.
2013-05-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive