Jerusalem violence.........

Jerusalem violence is not more of the same

JERUSALEM — Over the past week, violence has yet again surged throughout this city, leaving one Israeli dead and nearly 30 Palestinians and a dozen police officers wounded, some seriously.

While most of the violence has been focused on the religious site known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) and to Jews as the Temple Mount, flash points have 

appeared throughout the city.

This latest round of violence broke out in the days preceding Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which fell on Sept. 14 and 15. Israel's Agriculture Minister Uri Arielascended the Mount and announced his intentions to pray there, despite decades-old regulations against Jewish worship. Muslim leaders called on the public to "defend" their holy places, and intermittent skirmishes followed.

On the morning of Sept. 13, Israeli police deployed in force on the Mount. According to their public statements, they were acting on intelligence that Palestinian extremists were planning to attack Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall (an ancient retaining wall for the Mount that is also holy to Jews). A group of Palestinians, mostly teens, came out of the mosque armed with rocks and attacked the police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades.