Occupied East Jerusalem: There have been violent scenes as Israeli police raided the al-Aqsa mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, saying “agitators” had barricaded themselves and worshippers inside.
Palestinians said stun grenades and rubber bullets were used in the pre-dawn raid and that 50 people were hurt.
Police said stones were thrown and fireworks fired at them in the mosque.
The latest violence comes just ahead of an overlap between the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday.
The al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, is located on a hilltop complex known by Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) and by Jews as the Temple Mount. Jews revere it as the location of two Biblical Temples and it is the holiest site in Judaism.
Earlier, Palestinians barricaded themselves in the mosque after the evening Ramadan prayer, amid reports that Jewish extremists wanted to try to sacrifice a goat at the site for Passover – as Jews did in Biblical times before the Romans destroyed their temple there. Israeli police and religious authorities have said they would not allow such an act to take place.
Israeli police said in a statement that “several law-breaking youths and masked agitators” fortified the mosque “in order to disrupt public order and desecrate the mosque”.
“After many and prolonged attempts to get them out by talking to no avail, police forces were forced to enter the compound in order to get them out with the intentions to allow the Fajr [dawn] prayer and to prevent a violent disturbance,” it added.
“When the police entered, stones were thrown at them and fireworks were fired from inside the mosque by a large group of agitators.”
One officer was injured in the leg by a stone during the clashes, it said.
Video released by the police showed fireworks exploding and lighting up the prayer hall as heavily armed officers in riot gear moved in.
Other footage posted on social media appeared to show an officer using a rifle butt and others using sticks to beat Palestinians on the floor amid shouts and screams. Pictures of the aftermath showed overturned furniture and prayer mats scattered across the carpet.
A man looks at damage inside the Al-Aqsa mosque, following clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian worshippers, in occupied East Jerusalem (5 April 2023)
The Palestinian presidency warned Israel that its actions could have “dire consequences”
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 50 Palestinians were injured. It also said Israeli forces prevented its medics from reaching the mosque, though this has not been confirmed.
Some of the Palestinians still in Israeli custody are in a critical condition, according to their lawyer. BBC
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