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Israelis lift West Bank closure as tensions ease

Updated: 2010-03-18 12:36

Israel on Wednesday lifted its tight restrictions on Palestinian access to Jerusalem's holiest shrine and called off an extended West Bank closure after days of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces.

While Israel moved to end the lockdown, it also kept thousands of police officers on alert as an uneasy calm settled over the holy city.

The violence took place against the backdrop of deep Palestinian frustration over a yearlong standstill in peace talks and dovetailed with the worst US-Israeli diplomatic feud in decades.

On Tuesday, the US and Israel signaled they were trying to move beyond the crisis that erupted when Israel announced plans to build 1,600 apartments in disputed east Jerusalem during Vice President Joe Biden's visit last week.

Israel, citing intelligence reports, canceled the restrictions on Palestinian access to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest shrine, a day after the heaviest violence in months broke out across the city. Hundreds of Palestinians set tires and garbage bins ablaze and lobbed rocks at Israeli riot police, who responded with rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades. The unrest was set off by persistent rumors that Jewish extremists were planning to take over the compound.

The hilltop compound is also home to Judaism's holiest site, the Temple Mount, the place where the biblical Jewish temples once stood. The conflicting claims to the complex make the future of the holy city the most charged issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and immediately annexed the area. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as their capital.

The US, which has pushed for more than a year to get both sides negotiating again, harshly criticized the latest Israeli construction plan and has berated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on various occasions. US envoy George Mitchell, who had hoped to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, called off a visit to the region on Tuesday amid the tensions.

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Israelis lift West Bank closure as tensions ease

About the broadcaster:

Israelis lift West Bank closure as tensions ease

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.