JERUSALEM Witnesses and first responders report clashes between Palestinian protesters and police at dawn on Friday on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the Temple Mount according to Jewish tradition. “Seven wounded were transported to hospital for upper body injuries,” a Palestinian Red Crescent official told AFP. Other medical sources speak instead of 20 injured. The cause of the violence is not clear.
According to Islamic sources, the police entered the Al-Aqsa mosque in force as thousands of people followed the morning prayer in the month of Ramadan. Some videos show Palestinians throwing stones at officers and they respond with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets. According to the Israeli military radio, on the other hand, for the second Friday of Ramadan Islamic faithful marched in the esplanade flaunting Hamas flags and attacking the Israeli security forces with stones and fireworks fired at eye level. A few dozen people then barricaded themselves in the al-Aqsa Mosque. According to the police, the intervention of the agents was necessary to prevent stones from falling into the plain of the Western Wall below.
The incidents continue, with thousands of agents stationed in Jerusalem to maintain control of the situation while the Passover is also celebrated from tonight. In recent weeks, tension has risen following a series of attacks by Palestinians in Israel with 14 victims. In reaction, Israel carried out arrests and military operations in the West Bank, with clashes and deaths even among Palestinians.