Israeli Police

JERUSALEM - A large Israeli police force Sunday dismantled protest tents that Palestinian activists had set up on a hill east of Jerusalem and forcefully removed some 50 activists from the area. The activists pitched the tents on the first day of President Obama's visit to Israel and the West Bank. The encampment was near an area known as E1, where Israel plans to build a new Jewish settlement. The tent village was the second that activists had set up in the area to protest the planned  settlement.

JERUSALEM - A large Israeli police force Sunday dismantled protest tents that Palestinian activists had set up on a hill east of Jerusalem and forcefully removed some 50 activists from the area. The activists pitched the tents on the first day of President Obama's visit to Israel and the West Bank. The encampment was near an area known as E1, where Israel plans to build a new Jewish settlement. The tent village was the second that activists had set up in the area to protest the planned  settlement.

JERUSALEM -- Palestinians and Israeli police clashed Friday following noon prayers at Al Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem in what some said was a protest over prisoners held in Israeli jails. Police entered the walled compound where the mosque and the Dome of the Rock are situated after dozens of Palestinians threw rocks at them near one of the gates, a police spokesman said. Officers fired stun grenades and rubber-coated metal bullets at the protesters as they pursued them inside the walled compound and as they clashed at the gates, witnesses said.

JERUSALEM -- Palestinians and Israeli police clashed Friday following noon prayers at Al Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem in what some said was a protest over prisoners held in Israeli jails. Police entered the walled compound where the mosque and the Dome of the Rock are situated after dozens of Palestinians threw rocks at them near one of the gates, a police spokesman said. Officers fired stun grenades and rubber-coated metal bullets at the protesters as they pursued them inside the walled compound and as they clashed at the gates, witnesses said.

Citing a lack of evidence, Israeli authorities said Sunday that they would not file charges against any police officers in the killings of 13 Arabs shot during rioting five years ago. The announcement angered relatives of the victims as well as Israeli Arab leaders and rights activists, who charged that the government's decision was evidence of their second-class status in the Jewish state. "They are saying a crime was committed.

Israeli police questioned Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Friday for the fourth time in a corruption investigation that is a key factor in his political downfall. The session was the latest round of questioning on suspicions that Olmert improperly accepted money from an American businessman. Another case involves alleged violations in funding trips abroad.

Israeli police have arrested the British journalist to whom Israeli whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu disclosed details about the nation's alleged nuclear weapons program in a 1986 interview, security officials said Wednesday. The journalist, Peter Hounam, was arrested in Israel, but no details were given because of a gag order, Israel Radio said. Vanunu was released April 21 after serving a 17 1/2-year prison sentence for espionage and treason.

Israeli police Friday raided two Jewish seminaries in Jerusalem's Old City in a search for arms and sabotage materials prompted by a spate of attacks against Arab homes in the area. Police sources said that one man was arrested during the raids but that no arms were found. Some files were seized. The decision to make the searches came after the arrest Thursday of a student from one of the seminaries. In his car, police found materials often used in firebomb attacks.

Police launched an investigation Thursday after Western journalists photographed plainclothes police officers who had pasted press signs on their car to disguise their identity while investigating Palestinians. The incident drew a formal complaint from the Foreign Press Assn. in Israel, which said in a letter to the government that such action places journalists "at great personal risk" and urged authorities "to cease such behavior immediately."

Israel's police recommended Sunday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert be indicted in a string of corruption cases, according to an official document. The statement said officers are seeking his indictment in incidents that include receiving tens of thousands of dollars from a U.S. businessman and double-billing Jewish groups for trips abroad. The police recommendation would have only limited effect. The decision on whether to indict Olmert rests with the attorney general, Menachem Mazuz.

TIRA, Israel — When residents of this once-sleepy Arab village gathered to protest recent gang-style shootings in their community, anger quickly focused on the Israeli police. Residents raised signs reading, "Police are terrorists. " Local leaders recited a familiar list of complaints: Police treat Arabs like second-class citizens; they fail to prosecute many criminals and don't seize enough illegal weapons; they can't be trusted. Given the animosity, the protesters' next demand was somewhat surprising.

JERUSALEM - A simple, ancient ritual is threatening the delicate security balance atop Jerusalem's most sacred plaza: Jews are praying. On most days, dozens - sometimes hundreds - of Jewish worshipers ascend to the disputed 36-acre platform that Muslims venerate as Al Aqsa mosque and Jews revere as the Temple Mount with an Israeli police escort to protect them and a Muslim security guard to monitor their movements. Then, they recite a quick prayer, sometimes quietly to themselves, other times out loud.

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday condemned the brutal beating of a Palestinian teenager by a gang of Jewish youths shouting anti-Arab slurs. Though racially motivated attacks by both Israelis and Palestinians are not uncommon, the incident Thursday night in central Jerusalem has triggered a wave of soul-searching among Israelis, particularly after one suspect expressed pride in his actions because the victim was Arab. "In the state of Israel, we are not prepared to tolerate racism," Netanyahu said Tuesday.

With U.S.-brokered peace talks hanging by a thread, clashes erupted in East Jerusalem on Wednesday after a private Israeli security guard, working for Jewish residents of an Arab-dominated area, shot to death a Palestinian man during an early-morning altercation. Hours later, following the funeral of the slain man, Samer Sarhan, 32, Palestinian youths in the restive Silwan neighborhood confronted Israeli police, throwing rocks, setting three cars on fire and injuring at least seven passersby, Israeli police said.

Get the girls ready, Ziad Jilani's wife recalls him saying as he rushed out the door, and when I'm back from prayers we'll have a day at the beach. With temperatures soaring and school in recess, the Jilani family was looking forward to a little fun and relaxation. After Friday prayers at Al Aqsa mosque in the Old City, Jilani jumped into his white Mitsubishi pickup and began driving through a crowded East Jerusalem neighborhood. His family believes he was planning to buy fruit for his eldest daughter and make a quick stop to visit his grandmother.

Reporting from Washington and Jerusalem Paul Richter -- With anger over Israeli building plans stoking tensions about the future of Jerusalem's holy sites, violence spilled into the streets Tuesday in a string of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police that injured more than 100 people. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delayed a trip to the Middle East by the U.S. special envoy as Washington pressed the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to roll back construction of housing units in disputed East Jerusalem.

Rising political and religious tensions in Jerusalem spilled into the streets Tuesday with a string of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police that left more than 100 people injured. In scenes reminiscent of past uprisings, dozens of Palestinian youths, some with scarves masking their faces, pelted police with rocks, blocked roads and burned tires in half a dozen neighborhoods around East Jerusalem. Israeli police, who have been on high alert for days, responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades, witnesses said.