An Israeli court on Saturday freed without charge three Turks who had been arrested on suspicion of assaulting police outside Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a police spokesman said.
The men, described by police as tourists, were taken into custody on Friday, as Israeli forces battled Palestinians protesting against US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as its capital.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the three Turks had tried to reach Al Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-most important shrine, where “they planned on taking part in a demonstration”.
Israel arrests three Turk nationals from Jerusalemhttps://t.co/J9c0zQFxU4 pic.twitter.com/FngpfaLy04
— Times of lsIamabad (@TimesofIslambad) December 23, 2017
Rosenfeld alleged the three Turks “carried out an assault on police officers there”. He did not elaborate on the circumstances, other than to say there were no casualties.
The Turks’ Israeli defense lawyer, Nick Kaufman, said police asked the court to keep them in custody so charges of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest could be brought.
Kaufman told Reuters, “It was obvious that this was a politically charged case and the judge rightly released them.”
Erdogan on Sunday reaffirmed Turkey's intention to open an embassy in East Jerusalem, which was recognized as the capital of the State of Palestine by Islamic leaders days ago https://t.co/QRxTvgh7lH pic.twitter.com/tMiiP7mmJv
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) December 17, 2017
Tension has risen across the Palestinian territories since US President Donald Trump’s decision to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
