Israel detains Al-Aqsa guard amid mounting tensions

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli authorities have detained a guard at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and temporarily banned two other Palestinians from entering the flashpoint site, a Palestinian official said Monday. <br> </p> <p>“Police arrested Ahmad Oweis, an Al-Aqsa guard, from inside the mosque compound,” Firas al-Dibs, a spokesman for Jerusalem’s Religious Endowments Authority (a Jordan-run agency mandated with overseeing the city’s Muslim and Christian holy sites), told Anadolu Agency. <br> </p> <p>According to al-Dibs, Israeli police also temporarily banned two other Palestinians from entering the site.</p> <p>“Mohamed Daqaq was banned [from entering the Al-Aqsa compound] for six months, while Netham Abu Ramouz was banned for a four-month period,” he said. <br> </p> <p>Tension at Al-Aqsa has mounted in recent days after a series of Palestinian protests and the subsequent arrest of dozens of Palestinian activists.</p> <p>One week ago, Israeli police shut the mosque compound’s Al-Rahma Gate, preventing Palestinian worshippers from entering the site and sparking angry demonstrations.</p> <p>For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the &quot;Temple Mount,&quot; claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times. <br> </p> <p>Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which the Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community. </p> <p>In late 2000, a visit to Al-Aqsa by controversial Israeli politician Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the &quot;Second Intifada,&quot; a five-year-long popular uprising in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.

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