The man who took six other people hostage in a bank in France demands that Israel allow more for Palestinian Arabs to the Temple Mount, freeing prisoners
A guy who locked up in a bank in northern France on Thursday with several hostages told the media that he would release them if Israel “frees Palestinian youth wrongfully imprisoned” and allows greater access to the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
The man, who then surrendered to the police, took six hostages at the BRED bank branch in the centre of Le Havre, a coast of the city about 160 kilometres northwest of Paris. The six hostages he took were released unharmed.
The guy asked Al-Aqsa that Palestinians under the age of 40 were also allowed to enter the site, according to RTL. He’s in touch with the police, who have surrounded the bank. Le Havre has a giant Jewish community.
Israel restricts the faithful’s access to the mosque, especially after common riots. But those restrictions haven’t been in place lately.
The mosque and other places of worship had been closed for two months until 27 May due to emergency measures similar to coronavirus.
The Jordanian Waqf, a devout authority that enjoys some non-administrative autonomy in and around the mosque, limits the number of visitors to only a few dozen at a time. The restriction is implemented by age.
The BRED, whose French acronym “regional bank of accounts and deposits”, is a cooperative founded in 1919 through a non-Jewish user and unrelated to Jews in France.