Minor confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinians were reported on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque on Wednesday morning, with tensions rising in the city ahead of a planned right-wing march not sanctioned by authorities.
Videos from the mountain showed stones and Molotov cocktails being hurled at police officers, including from Al-Aqsa.
Several incendiary bombs started small fires in a mosque and a carpet at an entrance. These were issued. The scope of the clashes was limited.
“The violence is endangering worshipers trying to enter the mosque and hampering police efforts to ensure freedom of religion on site,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said.
“The Molotov cocktails set fire to a mat and window, causing blazes that were fortunately extinguished before major damage was done,” she added.
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The Molotov cocktails set a mat and window on fire, resulting in fires that were luckily extinguished before major damage was done.
Earlier this week, rioters were filmed throwing stones, setting off firecrackers and even playing football inside the mosque pic.twitter.com/sOQe5qjKL1
– Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (@IsraelMFA) April 20, 2022
The clashes occurred as several hundred Jewish pilgrims, escorted by police, were visiting the holy site.
According to a Temple Mount Jewish activist group that encourages visits to the site, 1,538 Jewish visitors came on Wednesday, a daily record for a holiday; around 2,300 Jews had visited the area since the beginning of Passover.
Hebrew media reported that three Jewish men were arrested after ignoring police orders and attempting to pray, which Jews are forbidden to do.
Non-Muslims are to be banned from visiting the site from Friday until the end of Ramadan on May 2, under a long-term policy.
This year’s 10-day ban on non-Muslim visitors is seen as part of the status quo on the Temple Mount, allowing Muslims to visit and pray while Jews are only allowed to visit during limited windows and are not allowed to pray. The site is the holiest site for Jews as the site of the Biblical temples, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, located on the Temple Mount, is the third holiest site for Muslims.
A group of religious Jews walk past the Dome of the Rock during their visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City April 20, 2022. (Menahem Kahana /AFP)
Meanwhile, right-wing Jewish activists vowed to move ahead with plans for a march through Jerusalem’s Old City, despite police saying they had rejected the parade’s planned route.
The so-called “flag parade,” similar to that usually held in the city on Jerusalem Day, was opposed by police because the organizers planned to march through the volatile Damascus Gate. On Wednesday morning, police said they had agreed to an alternative route proposed by organizers, but the latter then withdrew the proposal for unspecified reasons.
“We again clarify that at this time the police have not authorized the protest march in the requested format,” the statement said.
The march was called after Palestinians this week attacked buses outside the Old City on their way to the Western Wall, smashing windows and injuring passengers and attacking Jews in prayer shawls on their way to the Wall.
Far-right MK Itamar Ben Gvir (Religious Zionism) said he would take part in the march.
Thousands of people attended the second iteration of the week of a traditional prayer ceremony at the Western Wall on Wednesday morning, with authorities wary of a possible escalation.
Far-right politician MK Itamar Ben Gvir seen at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City on March 31, 2022 after visiting the Temple Mount. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Scores of police forces, including undercover officers, were deployed to secure the event in Jerusalem’s Old City, which began around 8:30 a.m. Numerous roads in the area were closed to traffic.
The biannual priestly blessing ceremony, called “birkat kohanim” in Hebrew, takes place on the days between Passover and Sukkot. It usually draws tens of thousands of worshipers, with crowds pouring into the surrounding areas from the site of the wall.
Jerusalem has been a powder keg in recent weeks as Palestinians scraped with police on the Temple Mount hotspot, the holidays of Ramadan and Passover drew thousands to holy sites, Israeli security forces cracked down on terror in the West Bank and terrorist groups fanned the flames in Gaza.
Masked Palestinians take positions during clashes with Israeli security forces on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Hamas issued fresh threats Tuesday after a flare-up in the south the night before.
A missile was launched from the Gaza Strip Monday night and intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system, the first launch from the Gaza Strip in four months. Hours later, Israel hit Hamas targets in Gaza.
None of the Gaza-based terrorist groups claimed responsibility for the missile.
A senior security official told public broadcaster Kan on Tuesday that Israel was preparing for more rocket fire from Gaza. Hamas is unable to prevent other terrorist groups from firing rockets, and Israel’s air defenses are on high alert, the official said.
Hamas media in Gaza said the Gaza Strip terrorist groups had decided to increase their operational readiness for the coming days.
Jewish believers cover themselves with prayer shawls as they pray in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City during the priestly blessing “birkat kohanim” on the Jewish holiday of Passover on April 20, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
“At our meeting, it was emphasized that we must remain prepared and increase national preparedness,” a Hamas spokesman said. “Our finger is on the trigger.”
After the rocket fire, Hamas approached Israel through Egyptian intermediaries to stress that it had no interest in further escalation and was not behind the attack, Kan said.
Ramadan is often a time of tension between Israel and the Palestinians. On Friday, those tensions boiled over after young Palestinians stored stones and other weapons at the mosque and marched into the area, with some people carrying the green banners of the Hamas terror group.
Police entered the premises, which led to clashes. Around 400 Palestinians were arrested and over 150 injured. Most of the detainees were later released.
The fighting and images of police officers beating civilians with batons drew international condemnation, including from Israel’s Arab allies.
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