Jerusalem: Heavy clashes in Al-Aqsa Mosque

According to Palestinian media reports, there have been clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. The officials stormed the church early in the morning and attacked believers, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Dozens of Palestinians were injured while they were praying in the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the night of Ramadan. Israeli forces prevented paramedics from reaching the mosque, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

Israel: Security forces took action against “rioters”.

Videos were circulating on social media, apparently showing police officers beating believers with batons and guns. The trigger for the alleged escalation was initially unclear.

Israeli police said they used force to remove worshipers who had entrenched themselves in the mosque with firecrackers, rocks and sticks. A police officer was injured in the leg by a stone. Dozens of “rioters” were arrested, the statement said.

Focus of the Middle East conflict

The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third most important holy place in Islam. It stands on the so-called Temple Mount, the highest sanctuary of the Jews. The site has long been a focus of the Middle East conflict. Violent confrontations on the Temple Mount have in the past led to wars between Israel and Gaza’s ruling Hamas, most recently in 2021.

The situation is more tense this year, partly because the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, coincides with the Jewish Passover and Christian Easter, which means that more people from all religious groups are visiting the site.

Sirens in several Israeli cities

The violence in Jerusalem sparked protests by Palestinians. In the Gaza Strip, Hamas called for demonstrations, and people then poured into the streets. There were calls for further protests to move to the heavily secured border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

The radical Palestinian organization Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, spoke of an “unprecedented crime” and called on the Palestinians in the West Bank to “flow en masse to the al-Aqsa mosque to defend it”.

According to AFP journalists, several rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel on Wednesday night. The Israeli army reported that sirens went off in several Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip.