According to Al Jazeera and the Palestinian Red Crescent, seven Palestinians were wounded during the attack. They were gathered in the mosque in connection with Ramadan. The Palestinian news agency Wafa has reported dozens of injuries. This has not been confirmed by other media. AFP reports at half past eight that over 350 people will be arrested by the police. Videos that have been posted on social media show Israeli police beating Palestinians with, among other things, batons. They are also said to have shot with rubber bullets, writes CNN. At least two of the injured have been sent to hospital with serious injuries, according to the website. The incident occurs only a few days after a Palestinian was shot and killed outside the same mosque. Israeli border police patrolled around one of the entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem. Photo: Mahmoud Illean / AP Rockets fired from Gaza It is not clear what caused the Israeli police to enter the mosque. Police claim they had to enter the mosque to arrest masked rioters who had barricaded themselves in the building. Palestinian media reports, for their part, that the Palestinians in the mosque were only there to pray. A Palestinian man inspects the infirmary belonging to the mosque after the clash on Wednesday. Photo: AMMAR AWAD / Reuters Dozens of people are said to have been arrested in connection with the unrest. According to the Israeli army, nine rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel. At least four of them were shot down and landed in open areas. According to the Times of Israel, one of the rockets hit a factory. Reuters writes that the rockets from Gaza came as a response to the attack on the mosque. Israel responded by sending rockets back at Gaza. So far, it is unclear whether anyone was injured as a result of the air and rocket attacks. Israel’s security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has asked that the defense cabinet be assembled. The controversial minister calls for a “strong” response to the rocket attack from Gaza. Ben-Gvir is the leader of the ultra-nationalist and religious party Jødisk Makt. – The government of which I am a member needs to react strongly to the rocket fire from Gaza. Hamas rockets require a response beyond bombing sand dunes and unmanned locations, writes the security minister on his Twitter account. – It is time to lower the heads in Gaza. Smoke rises from a military camp in Gaza after a rocket attack by Israel. Photo: Adel Hana / AP Increased tensions It is not the first time violent clashes have taken place at the al-Aqsa mosque, known to Jews as the Temple Mount. The mosque is located on a peak that is symbolically important for both Jews and Muslims. Tensions and attacks on the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem have increased over the past year. This month there have been fears that the situation will escalate further. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan falls this year at the same time as the Jewish celebration of Pesach, the Jewish Passover. Friday prayer at al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem last Friday. Photo: Mahmoud Illean / AP Government warns Israel Palestinian groups condemned Israel’s attack on Palestinians celebrating Ramadan. So do the Palestinian authorities. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the presidency’s official spokesman, warns the Israeli authorities against crossing “a red line”, writes the Wafa news agency. – We hold the occupation authorities responsible for any possible deterioration. Police outside the entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem, where the mosque is located. Photo: Mahmoud Illean / AP Spokesperson for the Palestinian president also issues a warning: – We warn the occupation against crossing borders at holy places. It will lead to a big explosion, said Nabil Abu Rudeineh. Jordan and Egypt have both condemned the incidents. The two countries were recently involved in a US-backed attempt to calm tensions in the West Bank. Facts about Israeli occupation During the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel occupied the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan and the Golan Heights from Syria. In 1979, Israel concluded a peace treaty with Egypt and withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula. As a result of the Oslo Agreement in 1993, the Palestinians gained political and security control over 18 percent of the West Bank. Israeli forces nevertheless operate regularly in these areas and decide who is allowed in and out. In 22 percent of the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority and Israel share security responsibility, while Israel has full military control in the remaining area. Israel has established 132 settlements in violation of international law in the occupied territories of the West Bank, and a further 32 on the Golan Heights. Israel also largely controls the water resources and infrastructure in the West Bank. In 2005, Israel withdrew its forces from the Gaza Strip and dismantled the settlements that had been established there. The area has since been under siege, and Israel still controls the airspace and coast beyond. After the elections in the Palestinian territories in 2006, in which Hamas emerged victorious, Israel introduced a blockade of the Gaza Strip, and the UN still considers the area to be occupied by Israel. In repeated resolutions, the UN Security Council has demanded Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Israel has never complied with UN resolutions and, thanks to the US veto in the Security Council, has avoided punitive measures. Source: NTB
ttn-69
Israeli police attacked Palestinians in the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
