Israel lands in public relations nightmare

Israeli riot police and soldiers have, since Friday, sealed off the Al Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holiest shrine, restricting entry to women and Palestinian men over 50. Outside the walled Old City, where the Al Aqsa mosque is situated, and in several West Bank villages, clashes were reported between Palestinian protestors, their Israeli and international supporters, and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), leaving at least 20 Palestinians wounded. Following a security assessment Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak ordered security forces to stop tens of thousands of Palestinians from entering Jerusalem. The tense situation on the ground has coincided with a diplomatic crisis of sorts with the Israeli government in confrontation with visiting United States Vice-President Joe Biden. An announcement on Tuesday by the Israeli interior ministry to build 1,600 new homes for illegal Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem provoked strong rebuke from the U.S. administration as well as international condemnation. Israeli officials followed the announcement by stating that in the next few years, perhaps decade, approximately 50,000 new homes would be built in the occupied East Jerusalem - mostly for Jewish settlers. Earlier in the month Barak had stated that an additional 140 new housing units would be built in one of the West Bank settlements.