Jerusalem Police is bracing for violence near the Temple Mount on Friday after the spread of an inflammatory internet article claiming that one of its policemen threw a Quran onto the ground and stepped on it.
Police have reinforced their presence near the Temple Mount out of concern that extremists may stir violence at the most sensitive of locations in Jerusalem.
Muslim Internet forums published photos of an Israeli policeman earlier this week, accusing him of defiling Islam's holy book, the Quran. The man serves in the Israel Police's religious sites unit, and the website called on Muslims to throw shoes at the man, and to even slit his throat.
The event which sparked the controversy took place this past Sunday. A group of female Muslim worshippers at the entrance to the Temple Mount were disrupting visitors from entering through the Jewish entrance. Police on site attempted to move the group of women and during the ensuing commotion a Quran fell out of one of the women's bags.
A police officer standing next to the woman in question became the subject of an intense smear campaign; he was accused of throwing the Quran to the ground, kicking it and even stomping on it. As a result of the ensuing death threats against the policeman, Jerusalem police have had to take measures to ensure his safety.
The incident comes after a long string of provocations by both Muslim and Jewish extremists. Police have had to close the Mugrabi gate to Jewish visitors recently.
As of now police have chosen not to put age restrictions on entering the Temple Mount, but have reinforced their positions at the site's entrances.
Meanwhile, there have been growing concerns of violence in the West Bank after 23-year-old Muhammad Asfour was pronounced dead on Thursday from a rubber bullet wound to the head. Asfour, from the village of Aboud near Ramallah, was wounded during protests in support of a Palestinian prisoner hunger strike two weeks ago. A source from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' office told Israel Hayom that Abbas ordered the commanders of his security forces to reinforce their units and to prevent riots.