An Israeli security forces member moves in position during clashes with Palestinian protestors at the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque, known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Old
Israeli police clashed with masked, stone-throwing Palestinians near Al-Aqsa mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem
Tensions simmering with Muslim holy month of Ramadan coinciding with Jewish Passover and Christianity’s Easter
At least 152 Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli riot police at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the Palestine Red Crescent said, two weeks into the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Israeli security forces have been on high alert after a series of deadly Arab street attacks throughout the country over the past two weeks, and confrontations at the sacred Jerusalem site carry the risk of sparking a slide back into wider conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
The Al-Aqsa compound, which sits atop the Old City plateau and is known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, or The Noble Sanctuary, and to Jews as Temple Mount, is the most sensitive site in the generations-old conflict.In a statement, Israeli police said hundreds of Palestinians hurled firecrackers and stones at officers and toward the nearby Jewish prayer area of the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City after Ramadan morning prayers.
Police entered the Al-Aqsa compound to “disperse and push back (the crowd and) enable the rest of the worshippers to leave the place safely”, it said, adding that three officers were injured in the clashes. Palestinian injuries were mainly from rubber bullets, beatings, rubber bullets and stun grenades, according to the Palestine Red Crescent.
Police detained hundreds of Palestinians, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a tweet.“We are working to restore calm, on the Temple Mount and across Israel. Alongside that, we are preparing for any scenario and the security forces are ready for any task,” Bennett said.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry, referring to the Al-Aqsa violence, said it “holds Israel fully and directly responsible for this crime and its consequences”.
“Immediate intervention by the international community is needed to stop Israeli aggression against Al-Aqsa mosque and prevent things from going out of control,” said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who governs self-ruled areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.