Jerusalem: Heavy clash at Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Temple Mount is considered the focal point of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At Al-Aqsa Mosque, there was now apparently serious conflict. Palestinians make serious accusations against Israel.

Clashes broke out between Israeli police and Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, Palestinian media reported.

Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that officers entered the church early in the morning and attacked worshipers. Dozens of Palestinians were injured during prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque during the night of Ramadan.

The Palestinian Red Cross said Israeli forces prevented medics from entering the mosque.

Israel: Security forces crack down on “rioters”.

Videos have been circulating on social media, apparently showing police officers beating worshipers with batons and guns. The impetus for the alleged increase was initially unclear. Israeli police said they forcibly removed worshipers who positioned themselves inside the mosque with firecrackers, rocks and sticks.

A police officer sustained leg injuries in the stone pelting. Dozens of “rioters” were arrested, the statement said.

The Temple Mount has long been at the center of conflict in the Middle East

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third most important holy place in Islam. She stands on the highest holy mountain of the Jews, which they call the Temple Mount. The site has long been at the center of the Middle East conflict. Violent clashes at the Temple Mount have led to wars between Israel and Gaza’s ruling Hamas in the past, most recently in 2021.

The situation is particularly tense this year because the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, coincides with the Jewish Passover and the Christian Easter, meaning more people from all religious groups flock to the site.

Sirens in many Israeli cities

The Jerusalem violence sparked Palestinian protests. In the Gaza Strip, Hamas called for demonstrations, after which people took to the streets. More protests have been called for a heavily guarded border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

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

According to AFP reporters, several rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel on Wednesday night. The Israeli military said sirens sounded in several Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip.