injured in collisions
The situation escalated again on the Temple Mount
04/17/2022 12:57 p.m
Just two days ago there was violence on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. More than 150 people are injured. Now there are new clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians.
Clashes have broken out again between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. About ten Palestinians were injured, according to Palestinian rescue workers. Hundreds of Palestinians had collected stones shortly before the planned visit of Jewish believers to the holy site, Israeli police said. They erected obstacles with stones and iron bars to block access. The police intervened to “restore order” and drive out the demonstrators. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, eight people were injured by police attacks and two others by rubber bullets. Three of the injured were taken to the hospital. The growing tensions coincide with the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which this year overlaps with the Jewish Passover and Christian Easter.
Palestinians set fire to a trash can during clashes with Israeli security forces in Jerusalem’s Old City.
(Photo: dpa)
The Temple Mount (Al-Haram al-Sharif) with the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam. But it is also sacred to Jews because there used to be two Jewish temples there. The Jews are currently observing the Passover festival. One of the customs is a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The Temple Mount is a few minutes’ walk from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christians celebrated Easter Mass. Palestinians threw stones at buses on their way to Jerusalem’s Old City in the morning, Israeli media and police reported. Five Israelis were injured in the process. Two Palestinians were arrested.
The ruling Islamist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip said: “The al-Aqsa Mosque is a red line and the (Israeli) occupying power bears responsibility for attacking believers and for allowing settlers to desecrate the facility.”
The Temple Mount is under Muslim administration while Israel is responsible for security. According to an agreement with the Muslim authorities, Jews can visit the facility but not pray there. Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Palestinians claim the territories for their own state with East Jerusalem as the capital.
Dozens of people killed
Violent clashes broke out on the Temple Mount on Friday, in which more than 150 people were injured. The latest clashes exacerbated tensions over the past week, fueled by a series of attacks in Israel that killed 14 people. More than 20 Palestinians were killed during the same period.
Last year, clashes on the Temple Mount and around the Al-Aqsa Mosque led to days of heavy clashes between the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Israeli security forces. By the time an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire came into effect, 260 Palestinians and 13 Israelis had been killed.