Israeli police raided the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Friday with at least 20 wounded, medics said, in the first face-off in the area since the start of Ramazan.
The Islamic endowment that runs the site said Israeli police entered in force before dawn on Friday, as thousands of worshippers were gathered at the mosque for early morning prayers, according to Al Jazeera.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said so far “20 wounded have been taken to hospitals in Jerusalem in connection with the ongoing clashes”, adding that “there are still wounded at the site”. Israeli police said three officers were hurt.
Israeli police said they entered the compound to break up a “violent” crowd that remained at the end of the morning prayers. It said “dozens of masked men” marched into Al-Aqsa chanting and setting off fireworks before crowds hurled stones towards the Western Wall – considered the holiest site where Jews can pray.
Israeli security forces fired rubber-coated bullets towards some Palestinian protesters, who threw stones at forces, witnesses said.
The latest clashes come after three tense weeks of deadly violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank, and as the Jewish festival of Passover and Christian Easter overlap with Ramazan, the Muslim holy month of fasting.
Al-Aqsa is Islam’s third holiest site. Jews refer to it as the Temple Mount, referencing two temples said to have stood there in antiquity.
The compound is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, falling within Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.
Before Ramazan began this month, Israel and Jordan, which serves as custodian of holy places in occupied east Jerusalem, stepped up talks in an effort to avoid a repeat of last year’s violence.
Last year during the Muslim month of fasting, clashes that flared in Jerusalem, including between Israeli forces and Palestinians visiting Al-Aqsa, led to 11 days of devastating strikes by Israel on the Gaza Strip. AFP
