Fresh violence breaks out at Jerusalem’s holy site Al-Aqsa mosque as Israeli police storm complex and clash with rock-throwing Palestinian protesters

• Clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters broke out on Friday 
• Eleven Palestinians were rushed to hospital, in moderate and serious condition
• Palestinians began hurling stones towards the Western Wall, considered the holiest site where Jews can pray, with Israeli forces dispersing the crowd
• The Palestinian worshipers have been outraged by repeated visits by Israeli Jews to the Temple Mount, the third-holiest site in Islam and the holiest in Judaism 
• Violence has sparked fears of an escalation in clashes echoing the 11-day war 

New clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters broke out on Friday at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem.

The Israeli police stormed the compound and fired teargas and rubber-tipped bullets at stone-throwing Palestinian youths, said an AFP photographer on the scene.

The clashes come after a month of deadly violence, as the Jewish festival of Passover overlaps with the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The violence has sparked international fears of a major escalation, a year after similar unrest led to an 11-day war.

Palestinian demonstrators clash with Israeli police at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound after the morning prayers in east Jerusalem

Israeli police arrest a Palestinian demonstrator at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound

The clashes come after a month of deadly violence, as the Jewish festival of Passover overlaps with the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan

Israeli police clash with Palestinian protesters at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, Friday, April 22

Fore crackers are shown exploding among the trees. Palestinian demonstrators clash with Israeli police at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound after the morning prayer in east Jerusalem

A lone soldier holds his position. Israeli forces take strict security measures as Palestinian worshippers, move for passing through the Qalandiya checkpoint from Ramallah into Jerusalem

The Old City of Jerusalem

At around 4:00am, Palestinians began hurling stones towards the Western Wall, considered the holiest site where Jews can pray, the police said.

‘Police forces used crowd dispersal means in order to stop the violence,’ the police said in a statement.

Eleven Palestinians were rushed to hospital, two of them in moderate and serious condition, said the Palestinian Red Crescent.

In the past week, more than 200 people, mostly Palestinians, have been wounded in clashes in and around the Al-Aqsa compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

This led to further escalation as Palestinian armed groups fired rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Israel retaliated with air strikes on Gaza, a blockaded territory with an impoverished population of 2.3 million.

Friday’s clashes come after nearly a month of bloodshed focused on the Al-Aqsa compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.

Palestinian demonstrators clash with Israeli police at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound. By long-standing convention, Jews are allowed to visit under certain conditions but are not allowed to pray there

Palestinians have been outraged by repeated visits by Israeli Jews to the site, the third-holiest in Islam and the holiest in Judaism.

By long-standing convention, Jews are allowed to visit under certain conditions but are not allowed to pray there.

Arab ministers meeting on Thursday in neighbouring Jordan said Israel should respect the status quo at the site, which is officially overseen by the kingdom’s Islamic affairs ministry.

The ministers condemned ‘Israeli attacks and violations against worshippers at the Al-Aqsa mosque’, calling them ‘a blatant provocation to the feelings of Muslims everywhere’.

US acting Assistant Secretary of State Yael Lempert and senior diplomat Hady Amr visited the region on Thursday.

After meeting them, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Israel was ‘preserving and will continue to preserve the status quo on the Temple Mount’ – contradicting Palestinian claims.

A Palestinian protester waves a flag of Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip. Earlier this month Israel military said it had hit an underground rocket factory, prompting another volley of rockets from the impoverished territory, run by Hamas

The festival of Passover overlaps with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The escalation has proved a political headache for Israel’s Prime Minster Naftali Bennett

In the past week, more than 200 people, mostly Palestinians, have been wounded in clashes in and around the Al-Aqsa compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem

Eleven Palestinians were rushed to hospital, two of them in moderate and serious condition, said the Palestinian Red Crescent

Why is Temple Mount one of the world’s most contested religious sites?

Temple Mount is known as one of the world’s most contested religious sites, and is a regular scene of flare-ups between Israelis and Palestinians.

The site, considered exceptionally holy to both Jews and Muslims, sits in the shadow of the stunning Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

The Temple Mount – known in Hebrew as Har Habayit and Haram al-Sharif or Noble Sanctuary in Islam – has been the site of religious tension for hundreds of years.

The plot sits on elevated plaza above the Western Wall in Jerusalem that was the site of both of Judaism’s ancient temples.

The area is also home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and considered the third holiest in Islam, after Mecca and Medina.

It is also home to the gold-topped Dome of the Rock, one of the most recognised symbols of Jerusalem.

Muslims believe it was the site of the Prophet Muhammad’s ascent to heaven in the 7th century.

Jewish connection to the site stems from the belief that it contains the ‘Foundation Stone’ where God created earth according to ancient scripture.

It is considered by Jews the place where God’s presence exists.

It is believed to be the site of many important events detailed in the Bible, including the Binding of Isaac, Jacob’s dream, and the prayer of Isaac and Rebekah.

The escalation has proved a political headache for Israel’s Prime Minster Naftali Bennett, himself a right-winger and a key figure in Israel’s settlement movement but who leads an ideologically divided coalition government.

Earlier this month the coalition lost its one-seat majority in parliament – then on Sunday, the Raam party, drawn from the country’s Arab minority, suspended its support for the coalition over the Al-Aqsa violence.

Palestinian militants in Gaza and Israeli warplanes exchanged fire Thursday in the biggest escalation in months.

Israel carried out air strikes in central Gaza, hours after a rocket fired by militants hit the garden of a house in southern Israel – the first such fire to hit Israel since January.

The military said it had hit an underground rocket factory, prompting another volley of rockets from the impoverished territory, run by Islamist movement Hamas.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said on Thursday that the movement was ‘determined to continue the struggle side by side with the Palestinian people to resist (Israeli) aggression no matter the sacrifices’.

The current spike in violence includes four deadly attacks since late March in Israel by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs that claimed 14 lives, mostly civilians.

A total of 23 Palestinians have meanwhile been killed in the violence since March 22, including assailants who targeted Israelis, according to an AFP tally.

On 7 May, 2021, Israeli news channels reported Palestinians had also thrown rocks at Israeli police forces, who again stormed the Aqsa Mosque.

The clashes led to the 11-days war last year when Hamas gave Israel an ultimatum to withdraw from the Temple Mount complex, responding with rocket attacks when the ultimatum expired without a response.

Israel responded with airstrikes of its own in Gaza. By May 19, the UN estimates Israel had destroyed around 94 buildings in Gaza.

The Gaza Ministry of Health reported that more than 1,900 Palestinians were injured

Israeli forces are seen preparing for violence. Arab ministers meeting on Thursday in neighbouring Jordan said Israel should respect the status quo at the site, which is officially overseen by the kingdom’s Islamic affairs ministry

Israeli security forces in front of the Dome of the Rock mosque. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Israel was ‘preserving and will continue to preserve the status quo on the Temple Mount’

Source: Read Full Article