سمحت الشرطة الإسرائيلية مساء الاحد للفلسطينيين بالوصول مجدداً إلى محيط البلدة القديمة في القدس الشرقية المحتلّة، في خطوة ترمي لتهدئة التوترات التي شهدتها المدينة المقدّسة في الأيام الأخيرة.

The staired plaza outside Damascus Gate in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem is a traditional gathering spot for Palestinians during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Jerusalem, a perennial powder-keg of religious tension, has seen some of its worst violence in years over recent days, triggered in part by an Israeli decision to block Palestinians from gathering on the Damascus Gate steps following prayers. But as crowds were building in the plaza on Sunday, police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai ordered the barricades be removed.

The decision came "following consultations with local leadership, religious leadership, situation assessments, while taking into consideration the shop owners who need to make a living, and in order to lower the level of violence," a spokesman told AFP.