Hanukkah pilgrimage to test Old City calm

JERUSALEM, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The shaky calm in Jerusalem's Old City will be tested by a planned "mass pilgrimage" of Jews to the Temple Mount, Israeli analysts say.

Activists say they plan to bring hundreds of Jewish pilgrims to the holy site Thursday morning in honor of Hanukkah, which marks the re-dedication of the Second Temple after it was recovered from Greeks more than 2,000 years ago, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Fierce clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and security forces happened at Temple Mount in October when rumors of a "Jewish takeover" spread through East Jerusalem. The Post said the rumors were fueled by calls from Knesset members and nationalist rabbis encouraging Jews ascend to the Temple Mount with strengthened purpose. Arab clerics interpreted those calls as a plan to invade the site or build a synagogue there, the newspaper said.

The Hanukkah event organizers, the Organization for the Renewal of the Temple, told the Post there was no indication the pilgrimage would cause spark new disturbances. However on Tuesday, ORT members were reportedly accosted by a group of Palestinians at the holy site as the group was heading to the Old City's Muslim Quarter.