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Israel Shuts off Al-Aqsa Compound after Unrest

Israel shut off access to the al-Aqsa mosque compound following weeks of tensions. (Reuters)
Israel shut off access to the al-Aqsa mosque compound following weeks of tensions. (Reuters)
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Israel Shuts off Al-Aqsa Compound after Unrest

Israel shut off access to the al-Aqsa mosque compound following weeks of tensions. (Reuters)
Israel shut off access to the al-Aqsa mosque compound following weeks of tensions. (Reuters)

Israeli police to shut off Tuesday access the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem after several weeks of tension at the location.

Tuesday’s move was prompted after a Molotov cocktail damaged a police post. Video spread online of scuffles between police and Palestinians before the site was cleared.

More than 10 people were arrested, police said, including two minors allegedly linked to the firebomb attack who will be brought to a court for a remand hearing on Wednesday.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported two people hurt, while police said an officer suffered from smoke inhalation.

Residents said police were also restricting Palestinian access to Jerusalem's Old City, where the site is located.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the "dangerous Israeli escalation" and warned of "serious repercussions." In a statement, he called on the international community to intervene.

Worshippers later prayed outside the locked gates of the site in protest.

The closure of the sacred compound also drew censure from Jordan, the custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem. Abdul Nasser Abu Basal, Jordanian Minister of Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites, described the barring of Muslim worshippers from the site as "a flagrant assault on all religious values, rights and freedom," and "an attack on all Muslims that touches the entire Islamic nation."

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu lashed out at Israel over the incident, saying it was time to end the country's "recklessness."

"We cannot accept such reckless attacks on holy sites and the whole world needs to react against it," the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Cavusoglu as saying.

Israeli police later announced that the site would reopen "to worshippers and visitors" on Wednesday morning.

The compound is the third-holiest site in Islam and a focus of Palestinian aspirations for statehood.

It is also the location of Judaism's most sacred spot, revered as the site of the two biblical-era Jewish temples. Jews are allowed to visit but cannot pray there and it is a frequent scene of tension.

It is located in east Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed in a move never recognized by the international community.

Recent weeks have seen scuffles over a side building at the site known as the Golden Gate or Bab al-Rahma.

Palestinian worshippers have been entering the site despite an Israeli order that it should stay closed.

Access to the Golden Gate was closed in 2003 during the second Palestinian intifada over alleged militant activity there, police say.

Palestinian officials argue that the organization that prompted the ban no longer exists and there is no reason for it to remain closed.

Israel and Jordan are believed to be holding discussions to resolve the issue.

Police have filed a request with Israeli courts for an order to re-close the building, but the court has reportedly delayed any decision to allow for more negotiations.

There are concerns in Israel that tensions at the site could boil over and become a political issue ahead of April 9 Israeli elections.

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Arab World

Heavy Rains Flood Khartoum Streets, Exposing Decomposed Bodies

A resident attempts to drain floodwaters outside home in Omdurman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A resident attempts to drain floodwaters outside home in Omdurman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Heavy Rains Flood Khartoum Streets, Exposing Decomposed Bodies

A resident attempts to drain floodwaters outside home in Omdurman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A resident attempts to drain floodwaters outside home in Omdurman (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Torrential rains battered several parts of Sudan’s Khartoum state this week, flooding residential neighborhoods and streets, disrupting movement, and sweeping away war debris, including decomposed corpses believed to belong to paramilitary fighters.

The rainfall began as sanitation workers were carrying out maintenance on stormwater drains. But before completing their task, the downpour caught them off guard, forcing them to begin draining the water with basic tools already in use.

Local authorities said residents in the East Nile district reported seeing decomposed bodies swept into drainage canals. Officials suspect the corpses may be those of fighters from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which controlled swathes of the capital during its year-long war with the Sudanese army.

The RSF had held large parts of Khartoum since conflict erupted on April 15, 2023. But by March this year, the army claimed to have regained full control of the city. Since then, thousands of displaced families have returned home, according to state authorities, with more returning each day.

This year’s rainy season arrives amid the devastation of war, which has crippled already fragile infrastructure, particularly flood drainage systems. Even before the conflict, seasonal rains often caused widespread destruction in Khartoum, damaging homes and public facilities and resulting in casualties.

Despite extensive water pooling in open areas, Sudan’s Civil Defense Authority reported no fatalities or property losses. “Water was drained naturally, without any intervention from Civil Defense teams,” said Major General Qureshi, deputy director of emergency operations, in remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat.

Qureshi added that his teams remain on high alert, as a precaution, although Nile water levels remain stable.

Residents attempted to clear water from their homes by removing weeds and waste blocking drainage channels.

“During the RSF's control of the city, we tried to dig small trenches to divert the rainwater toward the main drains,” said resident Mohamed Elias. “But the blocked drains caused water to stagnate for months, leading to insect infestations and disease.”

Although thousands have returned to Khartoum, the national government has not fully re-established itself in the capital, which it fled in favor of Port Sudan, a Red Sea city now serving as a temporary seat of power. Khartoum’s governor, Ahmed Othman, previously told Asharq Al-Awsat that the government’s return to the capital would be gradual.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said over one million displaced Sudanese have returned to their areas of origin across the country, including in Khartoum.