Al Aqsa mosque closure, Israeli Police takes over complete control
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City will reopen on Sunday, two days after the unprecedented closure heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
Netanyahu's office said in a statement late on Saturday that the compound would be accessible "gradually" for the faithful, visitors and tourists.
The sensitive site was shut down on Friday after three Arab citizens of Israel shot two Israeli officers dead in the Old City before fleeing to the al-Aqsa compound where they were killed by police.
Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, the former grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestinian territories, said on Saturday that the closure was a "collective punishment" that affected thousands of worshippers.
"This is unprecedented. The mosque has not been closed for centuries. The situation is dangerous," said Adnan Husseini, Palestinian Authority's Jerusalem governor, on Saturday.
Israeli authorities are "inflating this situation", he said. "We live in a conflict and there's violence almost daily. Palestinians are killed in cold blood almost daily at checkpoints."
Bassam Al Halaq, a senior official of Awqaf, an Islamic authority in charge of al-Aqsa, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli police were searching the entire compound, breaking through doors.
"To this point the noble sanctuary remains closed and all chambers inside it are being searched by the Israeli police. If a chamber is locked, the lock is broken. Only three Awqaf employees are allowed on the site, including the chief electrical engineer," he said.
