Jerusalem: More than 20 Palestinians and Israelis were injured in several incidents in and around Sunday JerusalemFlashpoint of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex two days after major violence at the site.
The number of injured in the latest clashes has risen to more than 170 since Friday, at a tense time when the Jewish Passover festival coincides with the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
They also follow deadly violence Israel and occupied the West Bank beginning in late March, which has killed 36 people.
On Sunday morning, police said that “hundreds” of Palestinian demonstrators inside the mosque complex began to collect piles of stones shortly before Jewish visitors arrived.
Jews are allowed to visit but not pray at the site, also known as the Temple Mount, the holiest place in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam.
Israeli police said its forces had entered the compound to “remove” protesters and “re-establish order”.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said 19 Palestinians were injured, with at least five hospitalized. It said some people were injured by rubber-coated steel bullets.
An AFP team saw Jewish worshipers, barefoot for religious reasons, and heavily armed, leaving a police-protected site near the compound’s entrance early on Sunday.
Outside the old city, which is located in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinian youths pelted stones at passing buses, resulting in seven people being treated for mild wounds, the Shaare Zedek hospital said.
Videos released by police showed two Israeli buses, their windows smashed as youths pelted stones at them.
Police said they had arrested 18 Palestinians, and Public Security Minister Omar Bar-Lev said Israel would “take strong action against anyone who dares to use terrorism against Israeli citizens.”
prime minister of israel Naftali Bennett Said that the security forces “continue to have a free hand in any action that may provide protection to the citizens of Israel”, while every effort should be made to allow members of all religions to worship in Jerusalem. .
senior Palestinian official Hussein Al Sheikh Said on Sunday that “Israel’s alarming escalation into the al-Aqsa compound … is an open attack on our holy places”, and called on the international community to intervene.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II – the kingdom serves as the custodian of holy places in East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in 1967 and subsequently annexed in a move not recognized by most of the international community – Sunday asked Israel to “stop all illegal”. and provocative measures” that drive “further growth”.
But the head of the Hamas Islamist movement, which controls Gaza’s Palestinian enclave, previously warned Israel that “al-Aqsa is ours and ours alone”.
“Our people have the right to access it and pray in it, and we (Israel) will not succumb to repression and terror,” Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement.
United Nations Gaza has called for calm after a year of clashes in and around the mosque complex in an 11-day war between Israel and Palestinian militants.
Weeks of rising tensions saw two deadly attacks by Palestinians in or near the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv in late March and early April, as well as mass arrests by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.
A total of 14 people have been killed in attacks against Israel since March 22.
Twenty-two Palestinians have been killed in the same period, with attackers targeting Israelis, according to an AFP figure.
On Friday morning, police clashed with Palestinians in the Al-Aqsa compound, including inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was strongly condemned by Muslim countries. Around 150 people were injured during those clashes.
Pope Francis on Sunday – with the marking of Christians Easter At the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, where they believe Jesus died and rose again – prayed for peace.
“Experience the beauty of peace, live in brotherhood and enjoy free access to holy places in mutual respect for the rights of each, together with Israelis, Palestinians and all pilgrims living in the Holy City,” he said. Easter address.
Despite the tension, hundreds of Christians staged a lively parade in Jerusalem, with processions being led by marching bands and bagpipes accompanied by deaf drums.
The number of injured in the latest clashes has risen to more than 170 since Friday, at a tense time when the Jewish Passover festival coincides with the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
They also follow deadly violence Israel and occupied the West Bank beginning in late March, which has killed 36 people.
On Sunday morning, police said that “hundreds” of Palestinian demonstrators inside the mosque complex began to collect piles of stones shortly before Jewish visitors arrived.
Jews are allowed to visit but not pray at the site, also known as the Temple Mount, the holiest place in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam.
Israeli police said its forces had entered the compound to “remove” protesters and “re-establish order”.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said 19 Palestinians were injured, with at least five hospitalized. It said some people were injured by rubber-coated steel bullets.
An AFP team saw Jewish worshipers, barefoot for religious reasons, and heavily armed, leaving a police-protected site near the compound’s entrance early on Sunday.
Outside the old city, which is located in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinian youths pelted stones at passing buses, resulting in seven people being treated for mild wounds, the Shaare Zedek hospital said.
Videos released by police showed two Israeli buses, their windows smashed as youths pelted stones at them.
Police said they had arrested 18 Palestinians, and Public Security Minister Omar Bar-Lev said Israel would “take strong action against anyone who dares to use terrorism against Israeli citizens.”
prime minister of israel Naftali Bennett Said that the security forces “continue to have a free hand in any action that may provide protection to the citizens of Israel”, while every effort should be made to allow members of all religions to worship in Jerusalem. .
senior Palestinian official Hussein Al Sheikh Said on Sunday that “Israel’s alarming escalation into the al-Aqsa compound … is an open attack on our holy places”, and called on the international community to intervene.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II – the kingdom serves as the custodian of holy places in East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in 1967 and subsequently annexed in a move not recognized by most of the international community – Sunday asked Israel to “stop all illegal”. and provocative measures” that drive “further growth”.
But the head of the Hamas Islamist movement, which controls Gaza’s Palestinian enclave, previously warned Israel that “al-Aqsa is ours and ours alone”.
“Our people have the right to access it and pray in it, and we (Israel) will not succumb to repression and terror,” Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement.
United Nations Gaza has called for calm after a year of clashes in and around the mosque complex in an 11-day war between Israel and Palestinian militants.
Weeks of rising tensions saw two deadly attacks by Palestinians in or near the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv in late March and early April, as well as mass arrests by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.
A total of 14 people have been killed in attacks against Israel since March 22.
Twenty-two Palestinians have been killed in the same period, with attackers targeting Israelis, according to an AFP figure.
On Friday morning, police clashed with Palestinians in the Al-Aqsa compound, including inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was strongly condemned by Muslim countries. Around 150 people were injured during those clashes.
Pope Francis on Sunday – with the marking of Christians Easter At the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, where they believe Jesus died and rose again – prayed for peace.
“Experience the beauty of peace, live in brotherhood and enjoy free access to holy places in mutual respect for the rights of each, together with Israelis, Palestinians and all pilgrims living in the Holy City,” he said. Easter address.
Despite the tension, hundreds of Christians staged a lively parade in Jerusalem, with processions being led by marching bands and bagpipes accompanied by deaf drums.