Content area
Full Text
For Israelis, the Ten Days of Repentance from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur turned into days of violence. Unrest has swelled in Jerusalem following an Israeli ban on a protest group at the Temple Mount, the holy site known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif. The clashes have left one Israeli dead and dozens of Israelis and Palestinians injured.
The clashes have been matched by a war of words, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring "war" on Palestinian stone throwers and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas vowing that Jews will not be allowed to "dirty" the Temple Mount.
Here's how the clashes started, what's driving the violence and how Israel, the Palestinians and the world are responding:
* Unrest followed Israel's barring of a violent Palestinian group from the Temple Mount.
Clashes at the Temple Mount are nothing new, particularly around the High Holy Days. The latest round broke out following Israel's decision on Sept. 9 to bar an Islamist protest group from entering the site. Israel said the women's group, known as the Murabitat, and its corresponding men's faction have been yelling at Jewish visitors and throwing stones at them.
"The aforesaid organizations strive to undermine Israeli sovereignty on the Temple Mount, change the existing reality and arrangements at the site and infringe on freedom of worship," said the Israeli statement announcing the ban.
Omar Kiswani, who directs the Al-Aksa mosque on the mount, told the Guardian that Israel should not have the authority to restrict Muslims from entering the site.
"We call upon all Muslims to be present in Al-Aksa," he...