JERUSALEM (AP) — The latest developments in a wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence (all times local).
2:50 p.m.
Muslim prayers at Jerusalem’s holiest site, which has been the epicenter of weeks of unrest, have ended peacefully.
It was the first time since violence erupted in mid-September that Muslims of all ages could attend the weekly Friday prayers at the Muslim-run site.
In recent weeks, police had barred younger Muslim men from the shrine, framing the restrictions as a security measure. Clashes between stone-throwers and security forces at the shrine, revered by Muslims and Jews, often involved teens and young men.
Azzam Khatib, the director of the Waqf — the Islamic religious authority that oversees the compound — said 25,000 worshippers attended, five times as many as the week before.
The calm comes after weeks of Israeli-Palestinian violence, including near-daily Palestinian attacks that killed 10 Israelis. On the Palestinian side, 48 people were killed by Israeli fire, including 27 labeled by Israel as attackers and the rest in clashes.
Diplomatic efforts are underway to end the violence.
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1:15 p.m.
An Israeli human rights group has released security camera footage showing several Israeli soldiers beating and kicking a Palestinian man for several minutes as he lies curled up in a defensive position on the floor of a storage room.
Israel’s military says it is looking into the incident.
The group B’Tselem said Friday that the footage is of an Oct. 6 incident in the West Bank town of el-Bireh. The group says 25-year-old Ansar Aasi was at work in the storage room when clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers erupted nearby.
The video begins with him carrying a box into the storage room. He is then seen standing at the door, looking outside. Suddenly, Israel soldiers rush toward him, beat him repeatedly and drag him outside.
B’Tselem says Aasi required medical treatment and was detained for five days after soldiers alleged he had thrown stones. The group says he was only released after police viewed the security camera footage.
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10:45 a.m.
Israeli police say that for the first time in the current round of escalating violence, Muslims of all ages will be able to enter Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site to perform Friday prayers.
Since mid-September, police had barred younger Muslim men from the site, which is revered by both Muslims and Jews and is a source of soaring Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
Police have said such bans were imposed to prevent clashes at the Muslim-run shrine. Muslims view age restrictions as part of a perceived Israeli attempt to expand its presence at the site, a claim Israel has repeatedly denied.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says age limits were lifted Friday, following security assessments.
The decision came a day after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an attempt to lower tensions. Kerry is to meet over the weekend with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, the custodian of the shrine, and with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
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8:00 a.m.
Israel’s military says a Palestinian stabbed a soldier in the West Bank and was shot by troops.
It says both the soldier and the Palestinian were wounded in Friday’s incident and were taken for medical treatment.
It was the latest incident in a round of violence that began in mid-September. Ten Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, mostly stabbings. Forty-eight Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 27 labeled by Israel as attackers and the rest in clashes.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is holding meetings with the leaders of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians this week to try to contain the violence and tone down the angry rhetoric between the sides.
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