Jerusalem: On Wednesday, when Palestinian worshippers barricaded themselves inside the sensitive Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in the Old City, violence broke out for a second night in a row in Jerusalem. Israeli police had to use force to disperse the worshippers.
The unrest wasn't as bad as it was the night before. However, tensions remained high as Jews and Muslims began their respective seven-day Passover celebrations and Muslims observed the holy month of Ramadan. Fears of a larger conflagration increased after Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip resumed firing rockets at Israel.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, the most recent violence left at least six people hurt. The Islamic Waqf authorities, who oversee the compound, claimed that police used rubber bullets and stun grenades to scatter the crowds.
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The Israeli police claimed that "dozens of lawless juveniles" had caused mayhem by pelting officers with rocks and other objects, forcing police to take action to restore "security, law, and order."
More Palestinians had gathered inside the mosque in response to the Waqf's requests that they pray there all night. Police officers were seen leading dozens of Palestinians out of the complex at one of the mosque entrances. While moving about, locals and shoppers watched social media videos on their phones that showed the rekindled altercations that had taken place only a few metres away.
Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque early on Wednesday, firing stun grenades at Palestinians who threw stones and fireworks in a violent outburst during a delicate holiday season. Israeli airstrikes were repeatedly launched after Palestinian militants in Gaza fired rockets at southern Israel in response.
By early Wednesday morning, the fighting had subsided, but that evening Palestinian militants fired two more rockets from Gaza, one of which missed its target inside Gaza and the other of which landed close to the security fence separating Gaza from Israel, according to the Israeli military. There were no casualty reports.
Conflicting claims over the mosque, which is located in a hilltop compound revered by both Jews and Muslims, have in the past resulted in violence, including a brutal 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic militant organisation that controls Gaza. The Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, is where Al-Aqsa is located. Al-Aqsa is the third-holiest site in Islam.
A Palestinian official stated that the Palestinian Authority was in contact with representatives from Egypt, Jordan, the United States, and the United Nations to de-escalate the situation despite warnings from Palestinian militant groups that more fighting was imminent. Due to his lack of authorization to brief the media, he spoke on the condition of anonymity.
According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, efforts are being made to "calm tensions" at the sacred site.
People who were arrested at the compound and later freed claimed that police beat Palestinians, including women and children, with batons, chairs, rifles, and whatever else they could find. The Palestinians retaliated by throwing stones and lighting firecrackers that they had brought to evening prayers out of concern for possible clashes. Police used stun grenades and rubber bullets to scatter groups of young men outside the mosque's gate.
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At least 50 people were injured, according to medical personnel from the Palestinian Red Crescent. 350 people were detained, according to Israeli police, who claimed they couldn't immediately confirm reports and videos showing them beating Palestinians. They added that one of the officers had a leg injury.
Separately, the Israeli military reported that a soldier was shot in the occupied West Bank and suffered only minor injuries.
According to attorney Khaled Zabarqa, who represents several of the Palestinians detained from Al-Aqsa, the majority of them were released from custody by early afternoon. However, he claimed that there were still 50 Palestinians in detention, many of whom were from the occupied West Bank, and that the Ofer military court would hear their cases on Friday. He stated that there had been 450 arrests overall.
UN Mideast envoy Tor Wennesland expressed his "appallingness" at the violent scenes at Al-Aqsa, denouncing Palestinians' beatings and mass arrests as well as rumours that they were hoarding rocks and firecrackers.
"It is the right of the Palestinian Muslim worshippers to exercise their religious duties and prayers in this holy Aqsa Mosque in this holy month of Ramadan, and at any other time," Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, told reporters at the UN's headquarters.
Palestinians flocked to a police station in Jerusalem on Wednesday to wait impatiently for the release of their loved ones. Amin Risheq, a 19-year-old from east Jerusalem, claimed that after being physically assaulted and made to lie on the mosque floor with numerous others while having his hands zip-tied behind his back, he was taken to the police station where he claimed he was denied access to a toilet or medical care.
Numerous Muslim worshippers have attempted to spend the night in the mosque numerous times since Ramadan began on March 22. Normally, this is only permitted for the final 10 days of the month-long holiday. Every night, Israeli police have entered to drive the worshippers out.
Jewish ultranationalists' demands to perform a goat sacrifice as was done in ancient times within the compound have exacerbated already tense situations.
Israel forbids ritual slaughter there, but Jewish extremists have called for a return to the practise, including by offering cash rewards to anyone who even tries to bring an animal into the compound. This has increased Muslim concerns that Israel is attempting to seize control of the site.
Netanyahu reaffirmed his commitment to maintaining the established arrangement at the compound on Wednesday. He labelled the worshippers who barricaded themselves inside the mosque as "extremists" who hindered Muslims from peacefully entering.
On Wednesday during regular morning visiting hours, over a hundred religious Jews passed through the location as small groups of Muslims gathered around them and chanted, "God is greater!"
Long-standing agreements allow Jews to enter the compound but not to pray there. However, these visits, which have increased in frequency recently, frequently cause tension, especially when some Jews are seen silently praying.
Approximately 80,000 worshippers attended the mosque's evening prayers on Tuesday, and hundreds of Palestinians barricaded themselves inside for prayer that night. Some claimed they wished to prevent religious Jews from offering animals as sacrifices. Israeli police entered the mosque after they continued to refuse to leave.
According to Israeli police, "a number of law-breaking youths and masked agitators" entered the mosque with fireworks, sticks, and stones while yelling profanities and locking the front doors. Police said they had to break into the compound after making numerous, fruitless attempts to talk the inmates out.
The 23-year-old Moayad Abu Mayaleh claimed that he and numerous others blocked a mosque door to keep the police out before they broke in.
As he left the station, he yelled insults at Israeli police, saying, "We can't let them get away with this."
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The Palestinian leadership in the occupied West Bank condemned the attack on the worshippers as a violation that "will cause a large explosion." In retaliation, Palestinian militants launched a barrage of rockets into southern Israel from Gaza, setting off air raid sirens as locals got ready for the seven-day Passover holiday.
Five rockets were launched, according to the Israeli military, and all of them were shot down. The Israeli army claimed that the airstrikes by Israel against Hamas' manufacturing and storage facilities were successful.
We don't want this to get worse, said army spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht. However, he warned that "we will respond very aggressively" if the rocket fire persisted.
Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Israel were urged to assemble around the Al-Aqsa Mosque and engage Israeli forces, according to the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Ziyad Al-Nakhala, the leader of Islamic Jihad, stated that Palestinians must be ready "for the inevitable confrontation in the coming days."
The Israeli military reported fighting in a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank as violence broke out in Jerusalem. According to the report, residents of Beit Umar, a town close to the volatile city of Hebron, threw explosives, rocks, and burned tyres at soldiers. It stated that armed suspects shot and killed one soldier,
Later that day, it was reported that no one was hurt when Palestinians opened fire at a checkpoint close to the Jenin area of the northern West Bank.
Israeli-Palestinian violence has increased over the past year as a result of frequent raids by the Israeli military on Palestinian cities, towns, and villages, as well as numerous attacks by Palestinians on Israelis.
According to a count by the Associated Press, Israeli fire has killed at least 88 Palestinians so far this year. In the same time frame, 15 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
The majority of Palestinians killed, according to Israel, were militants. However, there were also innocent bystanders and stone-throwing youths among the dead. The Israeli dead, all but one, were all civilians.