LIVE BLOG: Jerusalem on the brink

The West Bank town of Hebron was the scene of a march followed by intense clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces today, despite heavy rainfall.

Thousands of people took to the streets of a rainy Gaza Strip on Friday afternoon, in a march organised by Islamic Jihad.

In a speech at the march, Islamic Jihad leader Ahmed Mudallal thanked the crowds for "coming out to confirm the choice of resistance, one that Mu'taz Hijazi picked yesterday."

"Palestinian authorities have no choice but to stop negotiations with the occupier and to come together under the banner of the resistance."

Gaza's Civil Defence Forces reported on Friday afternoon that 11 houses have been flooded in Khuza'a today, amid heavy rainfall and hailstorms.

Many remain displaced since the latest war in Gaza, and reconstruction efforts remain largely stymied as winter approaches.

As violent clashes broke out in parts of Jerusalem and the West Bank, Jerusalem's Old City appears relatively calm today.

There was a huge deployment of Israeli police in the town's old city and East Jerusalem, amid large numbers of female worshippers and males over the age of 50.

Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld reported that the old city was "quiet" due to the large deployment.

Some suggested that the heavy rainfalls, which caused flooding in parts of the West Bank, could be behind the relative calm.

There have been reports of injuries during the clashes at the Qalandiya checkpoint, which separates Jerusalem from Ramallah.

A man was wounded in the face by a burning tear gas canister, reports Palestine Information Centre.

Others sustained injuries from rubber bullet fire - Palestine Today alleges that the ammunition used was in fact rubber-covered metal bullets.

Local news site Zamn Press described the condition of one of the injured protesters as "severe."

Highlighting the escalating tensions in Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territories, Hamas leader Fathi Hamad said on Friday that they have their "fingers on the trigger."

His comments came as marches set out across Jerusalem and in the West Bank - large numbers of additional Israeli forces were deployed in Hebron as Palestinians marched through the city.

Sources tell MEE that hundreds of Israeli police are waiting outside mosques in the West Bank as tensions escalate in anticipation of further violent clashes today.

3,000 Israeli police officers are thought to be stationed throughout Jerusalem today - three times more than usual.

Clashes have begun to break out in Jerusalem on Friday afternoon.

The Qalandiya checkpoint saw fierce confrontations between Palestinian marchers and Israeli police, who have been deployed in large numbers today.

Tear gas was fired, and Palestine Today reports that an Israeli military tower at the checkpoint, which separates Jerusalem from Ramallah, was set alight.

Protesters held aloft signs reading "at your service, al-Aqsa", a slogan used by Hamas to call for demonstrations against yesterday's closure of the holy site.

There were also clashes in Wadi al-Joz, just north of Jerusalem's Old City - male worshippers under the age of 50, who are prohibited from entering al-Aqsa today, prayed in the street before clashes broke out.

A 10-year old child was injured during the march, when a rubber bullet smashed a car window.

Israel's security services, Shin Bet, believe that the person behind the attempted assassination of Yehuda Glick on Wednesday had an accomplice.

Mu'taz Hijazi, whom Shin Bet suspected of being behind the attack, was shot dead on Thursday morning as police stormed his house.

However, Shin Bet increasingly suspect that he was not working alone, Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Friday.

Sources involved in the investigation said yesterday that Glick had received numerous death threats over the past two years - Israeli police officials have denied this.

There were also demands for a further investigation after it was revealed that Hijazi was an employee at the restaurant of the Menachem Begin Centre, where Glick was shot.

Senior officials involved in the case raised concerns over the fact that the restaurant, which is frequented by top Israeli politicians, employed Hijazi, who had served a lenghty prison term.

Hatem Abdel Qader, a member of Fatah and former minister for Jerusalem affairs, spoke to MEE on Friday morning. He told us about the situation on the ground in Jerusalem as heavy rain falls on the city and throughout the West Bank.

"There is still a lot of tension, especially around the ongoing funeral for Hijazi" - Mu'taz Hijazi's body was buried on Thursday night, but people will continue to give their condolences to his family for a further two days.

Qader said that, though the Palestinian Authority has not issued any calls for further confrontations, they "still expect clashes between the youth and the security forces to continue.

"The Israelis were forced due to pressure from the US and Jordan to reopen the gates [of the al-Aqsa compound]. 

"But the youth [men under 40 or 50] have been denied access to al-Aqsa on a recurring and regular basis over the past year. This in itself, as well as settlers raiding al-Aqsa, provoke people and may be the reason for the ongoing clashes."

MEE spoke to Dr Sheikh Ekrimah Saeed Sabry, imam of al-Aqsa and former grand mufti of Jerusalem, after dawn prayers on Friday.

"[Israeli authorities] were forced to open the gates, because al-Aqsa is for Muslims, not for Jews. Today the mosque is open, but only for people aged 50 and over.

"Only about 100 worshippers entered al-Aqsa for morning prayers.

"Now that the doors have reopened, things will calm down. There may still be a reaction from the youth who are not allowed access - however, it will be less than if the doors were completely shut."

Sabry said that Friday prayers, when worshippers traditionally gather to hear a sermon, could be a tense moment this week after the closure of the mosque yesterday.

"We will see what will happen for Friday prayers.

"If al-Aqsa is shut again, we will not stand by idle."

• The funeral last night of Mu'taz Hijazi, shot by Israeli forces on Thursday morning, was attended by hundreds of mostly young Palestinian men, who pushed through the barriers to bury Hijazi's body in spite of restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities.

• Hamas in Hebron, a West Bank town some 50 kilometres north of Jerusalem, have called for a march "in support of al-Aqsa" after Friday prayers today. The tagline of the march call-out is "al-Aqsa is a responsibilty for us all."
• Israeli police have set up checkpoints on the roads leading to Jerusalem, fearing that Friday prayers could be a flashpoint for anger among Palestinians seeking to pray at al-Aqsa Mosque.
• Israel has withdrawn its envoy from Sweden, after the Swedish Parliament on Thursday voted to recognise the state of Palestine.
• al-Aqsa Mosque, the closure of which yesterday ignited tensions, was open for dawn prayers on Friday to women of all ages and men over the age of 50.

Israeli military radio this morning carried a fresh statement from the Shaare Zedek Medical Centre, where Yehuda Glick is receiving treatment after the attempt on his life on Wednesday night.

Glick was shot multiple times at close range after giving a speech at the Menachem Begin Centre.

Hospital officials said on Friday morning that Glick's situation remains "severe" and that "his life is in danger."

Dimi Reider, Israeli journalist and associate fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations told MEE that he saw tensions rising, but not to a "full-fledged" war.

"Jerusalem is obviously on the brink, but probably not on the brink of a full-fledged intifada, for many reasons.

"It’s likely we’re entering a period of sustained community violence, especially grassroots violence on the part of the Palestinians and state violence on the part of the Israelis.

"I don’t see a proper civil war breaking out, for many reasons. There isn’t the infrastructure for that.

"I don’t think there’ll be a sharp escalation in construction [in occupied territories], but we’ll keep seeing the sporadic construction of a thousand houses here, a thousand houses there. Its hard for me to see the current government sobering up. It’s a nationalist government elected to pursue nationalist objectives and that’s what they’re going to do."