Palestinians stage violent riots in Jerusalem after Hamas calls for new Intifada

A day after violent clashes in east Jerusalem between Palestinian protestors and Israeli forces, in which 15 police officers and between 40 and 100 protestors were injured, Israel reopened access for visitors to the Temple Mount. Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip had called for a ‘day of rage' to protest against the consecration of the 17th-century Hurva synagogue in Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday. Police deployed 3,000 officers around the city as Arab protestors threw stones and Molotov cocktails at them. "We are calling for the third Intifada to be sparked now,'' Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, which controls the Gaza Strip, referring to previous Palestinian uprisings. Israel Police chief David Cohen said the clashes would not escalate into an Intifada and suggested that the scope and seriousness of violence had been exaggerated by the media.

In New York, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on both Israel  and the Palestinians to show restraint. Ban is expected to arrive in Israel this weekend and will also visit the Gaza Strip. He said that the status of Jerusalem was “a subject of final negotiation" and repeated his condemnation of the Israeli plan to build 1,600 housing units in east Jerusalem. On Gaza, the UN chief said: "The Israeli policy of closure destroys hope – hope of a better life for all people, hope for recovery from the destruction and pain of the recent war…It undercuts moderates and empowers extremists. It destroys legitimate commerce and encourages smuggling. It blocks the road to a peaceful future for both sides in this conflict."