Clashes erupt at Jerusalem holy site, 117 Palestinians hurt
Jerusalem, April 15
Clashes broke out early on Friday between Israeli police and Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a major holy site in Jerusalem, and medics said at least 117 Palestinians were wounded.
Police entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound early on Friday, igniting clashes with Palestinians who had gathered for morning prayers during the holy month of Ramadan.
Israeli authorities say masked men had marched to the mosque and were stockpiling stones and other objects in anticipation of violence.
The site is the third holiest in Islam and the holiest for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount.
The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service provided an updated toll of the wounded. Israeli police say at least three officers were wounded by rocks thrown at them.
Israel said its forces entered to remove rocks and stones that had been gathered in anticipation of violence. The holy site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, has often been the epicentre of Israeli-Palestinian unrest, and tensions were already heightened amid a recent wave of violence. Clashes at the site last year sparked an 11-day war with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
The clashes come at a particularly sensitive time. Ramadan this year coincides with Passover, a major week-long Jewish holiday beginning on Friday at sundown, and Christian holy week, which culminates on Easter, Sunday. The holidays are expected to bring tens of thousands of faithful into Jerusalem’s Old City, home to major sites sacred to all three religions.
Videos circulating online showed Palestinians hurling rocks and fireworks and police firing tear gas and stun grenades on the sprawling esplanade surrounding the mosque. Others showed worshippers barricading themselves inside the mosque itself amid what appeared to be clouds of tear gas.
The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said it evacuated 67 people to hospitals who had been wounded by rubber-coated bullets or stun grenades, or beaten with batons. The endowment said one of the guards at the site was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet.
The Israeli police said three officers were wounded from “massive stone-throwing,” with two evacuated from the scene for treatment.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said dozens of masked men carrying Palestinian and Hamas flags marched to the compound early on Friday and gathered stones.
These actions have nothing to do with prayer, and in fact desecrate the mosque and the month of Ramadan.
Police were forced to enter the grounds to disperse the crowd and remove the stones and rocks, in order to prevent further violence. (2/3)
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) April 15, 2022
“Police were forced to enter the grounds to disperse the crowd and remove the stones and rocks, in order to prevent further violence,” it tweeted.
