Israeli police on the Esplanade of Mosques in Jerusalem, April 15, 2022. AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP
Dozens of people were injured in Jerusalem on Friday, April 15, when early morning clashes broke out on the mosque esplanade between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police, witnesses and rescuers said.
In a report submitted to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Palestinian Red Crescent said more than a hundred were injured in those morning clashes in the Old City of East Jerusalem, a Palestinian sector occupied by Israel since 1967, before this tally quickly revised sheet upwards. “One hundred and seventeen wounded were taken to hospitals in Jerusalem and “dozens” were treated at the scene, a Palestinian Red Crescent official told AFP.
The Israeli police, for their part, reported three injured police officers. The clashes were mostly over around 9:30 a.m. (7:30 a.m. French time).
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Throwing stones, rubber bullets and tear gas
Rescuers evacuate an injured person in clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police April 15, 2022 in Jerusalem. HAZEM BADER / AFP
Witnesses reported Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli security forces and rubber bullets at some Palestinian demonstrators. Around 4 a.m., “dozens of young masked rioters,” some with flags of the armed Islamist movement Hamas, “started a procession” on the esplanade of the mosques, throwing stones toward the wall of the adjacent Lamentations main place of prayer in In line with Jewish tradition, the Israeli police said they intervened to “restore order”.
According to an AFP photographer at the scene, the clashes heated up and more than a hundred Palestinians threw projectiles at Israeli security forces. Videos circulating on the Internet also show that the police used tear gas and Flash grenades against demonstrators. Still others show people barricading themselves inside the mosque – which police say they did not enter – in what appear to be clouds of tear gas.
Palestinian protesters clash with Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on April 15, 2022. AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers The Palestinian city of Jenin considers itself a victim of collective punishment
Islam’s third holy site, the Esplanade of Mosques, is in East Jerusalem, a Palestinian sector occupied by Israel since 1967 and still the scene of clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters. By the month of Ramadan 2021, late-night demonstrations in Jerusalem and clashes even on the Esplanade had turned into an 11-day war between Gaza’s ruling Palestinian Islamist movement, Hamas, and Israel.
Twenty-one Palestinians killed in violence
Jordan manages the Esplanade des Mosques, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock are located, but access to this site is controlled by Israel. Just before the start of the month of Ramadan, on April 2 this year, Israeli and Jordanian officials intensified talks to avoid further clashes.
This weekend, in the middle of Ramadan, authorities feared shifts in the holy city with the start of Christian Easter and Jewish Passover celebrations with prayers at the Western Wall, a rare coincidence of the calendars of the three major monotheistic religions.
Palestinians clash with Israeli police on the Esplanade of Mosques in Jerusalem on April 15, 2022. AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP
Moreover, this violence in the heart of Jerusalem comes after a series of attacks in Israel and Israeli operations in the West Bank, another area occupied by the Jewish state since 1967. Since March 22, Israel has been hit by four attacks, the first two by Israeli Arabs linked to the jihadist organization Islamic State (IS) and the last two by Palestinians from the Jenin sector of the West Bank.
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These attacks killed fourteen people. In addition, according to an AFP tally, 21 Palestinians, including attackers, have been violently killed since that date. On Thursday, three Palestinians were killed in Israeli operations in the West Bank, which also wounded many, one of whom finally succumbed to his wounds on Friday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.