Several people were injured on Friday, April 15, in Jerusalem as clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli police took place early in the morning on the esplanade of the Mosques, according to witnesses and rescuers.
In an initial report to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Palestinian Red Crescent had reported seven injuries in these morning clashes in the Old City of East Jerusalem, a Palestinian sector occupied since 1967 by Israel, before quickly revise this balance upwards. “Twenty injured people have so far been transferred to hospitals in Jerusalem in connection with the ongoing clashes [à l’esplanade des Mosquées]. And there are still injured people on the site.said the Palestinian Red Crescent.
According to other information from the Associated Press (AP) news agency, rescuers have evacuated 59 injured people to hospitals. For its part, the Israeli police reported three injured police officers.
Throwing stones, rubber bullets and tear gas
Witnesses spoke of Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli security forces and firing rubber bullets at some Palestinian demonstrators. Around 4 a.m., “dozens of young masked rioters”some displaying themselves with flags of the armed Islamist movement Hamas, “started a procession” on the esplanade of the Mosques, and threw stones in the direction of the adjacent Wailing Wall, the most important place of prayer in Jewish tradition, said the Israeli police saying they intervened to ” restore order “.
According to an AFP photographer on the spot, the clashes were fed and more than a hundred Palestinians threw projectiles in the direction of the Israeli security forces. Videos circulating on the Internet also show that the police used tear gas and stun grenades against protesters. Still others show people barricading themselves inside the mosque – which police say they did not enter – in what looks like clouds of tear gas.
Third holy place of Islam, the esplanade of the Mosques is located in East Jerusalem, a Palestinian sector occupied since 1967 by Israel which remains the scene of clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian demonstrators. During the month of Ramadan in 2021, nocturnal demonstrations in Jerusalem and clashes even on the esplanade had turned into eleven days of war between the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, in power in the Gaza Strip, and Israel.
Twenty-one Palestinians killed in violence
Jordan administers the Esplanade des Mosques, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are located, but access to this place is controlled by Israel. Shortly before the start of the month of Ramadan, on April 2 this year, Israeli and Jordanian officials stepped up talks to avoid further clashes.
This weekend, in the middle of Ramadan, the authorities feared slippages in the holy city with the start of the Christian Easter and Jewish celebrations of Passover with prayers at the Wailing Wall, a rare coincidence of calendars between the three major monotheistic religions.
Moreover, this violence in the heart of Jerusalem comes after a series of attacks in Israel and Israeli operations in the West Bank, another territory occupied since 1967 by the Jewish state. Since March 22, Israel has been hit by four attacks, the first two carried out by Israeli Arabs linked to the jihadist organization Islamic State (IS) and the last two by Palestinians from the Jenin sector in the West Bank.
These attacks killed fourteen people. In addition, 21 Palestinians, including assailants, have been killed in violence since that date, according to an AFP tally. On Thursday, three Palestinians were killed in Israeli operations in the West Bank, which also left many injured, one of whom finally succumbed to his wounds on Friday, the Palestinian health ministry said.