PA praises violent Arab rioters in Jerusalem for "succeeding" to "force" Israel "to remove barricades from Damascus Gate"
Headline: “Palestine triumphs thanks to its Jerusalem – the young people of Jerusalem defeat the occupation’s iron barricades at the Damascus Gate”
“Last night [April 25, 2021], the young people of Jerusalem succeeded in defeating all the barricades that the occupation police had placed in the Damascus Gate area in occupied Jerusalem, which caused the outbreak of the confrontations throughout recent days…
The young people of Jerusalem succeeded in imposing national sovereignty and forcing the occupation to remove the barricades, which it yet again failed to impose. This success joins other successes in the battle of the metal detectors (refers to Arab riots against Israeli security measures in July 2017; see note below -Ed.) and the Gate of Mercy (refers to clashes in February 2019; see note below -Ed.).”
The article includes a photograph by the Agence France-Presse news agency, in which Arabs are seen celebrating at the Damascus Gate.
Text in caption: “Young people applaud Jerusalem in front of the Damascus Gate following the removal of the barricades.”
"the battle of the metal detectors" refers to Israeli security measures at the Temple Mount, including metal detectors at the entrances, following an attack there on July 14, 2017, in which 2 Israeli border police officers were murdered by 3 Israeli Arab terrorists. On July 24, 2017, Israel decided to remove the metal detectors and security cameras it had placed at the site. The PA continued to demand that all measures including inspections at the entrances be removed, and Palestinians continued to riot. On July 27, 2017, PA religious leaders declared that all Israeli measures had been removed.
February 2019 Temple Mount clashes – Muslim riots broke out on the Temple Mount starting Feb. 18, 2019, after the Israeli police closed a compound near the Gate of Mercy after the Jordanian Waqf had violated an Israeli court order by reopening the compound the previous week. The compound was ordered sealed in 2017 given that it was managed by the banned Islamic Movement in Israel and used for illegal construction and antiquities destruction.