Arab rights group planning visit to Temple Mount, Hebron

A delegation of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee is planning to visit the Temple Mount and Hebron on Tuesday to protest the settlement policies of the Israeli government.

Members of the committee plan to meet with Waqf officials in Jerusalem to discuss the recent tensions in the city and the limitations on entry to the Temple Mount compound.

At the same time, the northern branch of the Islamic Movement is continuing to organize daily bus trips to Jerusalem.

"The visits are occurring as usual due to our belief in the righteousness of our path and our right to defend the al-Asqa mosque," said attorney Zadi Nujeidat, an Islamic Movement spokesman.

Jerusalem police are continuing to deploy throughout the city to prevent outbreaks of violence.

No disturbances were reported on Monday as the dedication of the Hurva synagogue in the Jewish Quarter took place.

Late in the afternoon, it was reported that a number of Palestinian youths threw rocks at Border Police stationed at the Qalandiyah checkpoint north of the city.

Additional forces were summoned to the scene and the checkpoint was closed to traffic. No soldiers were wounded.

For the fourth straight day, access to the Muslim prayer sites on the Temple Mount was limited to all women and men over 50. These restrictions are expected to remain in place on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, at least seven Palestinians were hurt during a confrontation with Israel Defense Forces troops in the West Bank on Monday, Palestinian medical sources said, and a senior Palestinian politician said a new Intifada could break out.

Palestinian witnesses and medics said soldiers had fired live rounds at the demonstrators near Ramallah but the Israeli military denied this, saying other measures to disperse the crowd were used.

Senior Palestinian politician Ahmed Qurie, a former prime minister, said steps taken by Israel, including measures Palestinians believe aim to deepen its control over Jerusalem, risked triggering a new Intifada, or uprising.

"If matters remain at this level, regardless of whether we take the decision or not, it is coming. If Israel continues these practices, it is coming," Qurie told reporters.

The leaders of President Mahmoud Abbas's Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, which is backed by Western governments, have ruled out any repeat of the uprising mounted by the Palestinians in the early years of the past decade.

They have, however, stated support for "popular resistance," including protests, to put pressure on Israel to end its occupation of territories where the Palestinians aim to establish a state with East Jerusalem as its capital.