WEB DESK
At least 160 people were injured when Israeli riot police clashed with Palestinians at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound late on Friday, capping a week of violence in the Holy City and the occupied West Bank.
Stones, bottles and fireworks were hurled at officers who fired rubber bullets and stun grenades at the crowds at Islam’s third-holiest site, also revered by Jews as the location of two biblical-era temples.
At least 163 Palestinians and six Israeli officers were reported wounded at Al-Aqsa and elsewhere in east Jerusalem, as the Palestinian Red Crescent said it had opened a field hospital because emergency rooms were full.
Israeli forces on May 7 (Friday) launched an attack and injured Muslim worshippers in the Al-Aqsa mosque on the eve of the Al-Quds day (Jerusalem day). According to the Palestinian Red crescent page, 200 Palestinians have been injured and 88 have been hospitalised in Jerusalem, with many injuries being head and eyes related.
Police said officers had restored order following the “rioting of thousands of worshippers” after evening prayers.
Tensions in Jerusalem have soared in recent weeks as Palestinians have protested against Israel’s restrictions on access to parts of the Old City during the Muslim holy month of Ramzan, and after authorities ordered several Palestinian families to leave their homes to make way for Israeli settlers.
The United Nations had warned the forced evictions could amount to “war crimes”.
The U.S. called for “de-escalation”, later adding that the violence was “especially disturbing now, coming as it does on the last days of Ramzan”.
The Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmad Abul Gheit condemning the attack, said in a statement that the timing of attacks reflect “deliberate intention” to provoke Palestinians. Speaking on the live televised event of Al Quds day(or Jerusalem day), the annual show of solidarity with the Palestinians, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khameni said “Israel is not a country, but a terrorist base against the nation of Palestine and other Muslim nation.”
He further said “Fighting this despotic regime is fighting oppression and terrorism, and is everyone’s duty.” Quds Day was launched by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s 1979 revolution. It is held each year on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The Al-Aqsa mosque is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the “Temple Mount,” claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples of ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognised by the international community. Ever since 1980, Israeli forces have been trying one way or the other to push deeper into the West Bank and occupy the entire region