Witnesses reported Palestinians threw stones at Israeli security forces and fired rubber bullets at some Palestinian protesters. At least seven people were injured, according to a representative of the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Clashes broke out between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police on the esplanade of mosques in Jerusalem on Friday morning, witnesses and rescuers said.
Also read Knife attack in Israel that killed Palestinian attackers
“Seven injured were taken to hospital with upper body injuries,” a Palestinian Red Crescent official told AFP when asked about the clashes. Witnesses reported Palestinians threw stones at Israeli security forces and fired rubber bullets at some Palestinian protesters.
Islam’s third holiest site, the Esplanade of Mosques — also called the Temple Mount by Jews — is located in the Old City of East Jerusalem, a Palestinian sector occupied by Israel since 1967 and still the scene of Israeli-police clashes and Palestinian protesters is . 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.
Jordan manages the Esplanade of Mosques where the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are located, but access to this site is controlled by Israel. Just before the start of Ramadan (April 2) this year, Israeli and Jordanian officials intensified talks to avoid further clashes.
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 region of the West Bank. These attacks killed fourteen people. In addition, according to an AFP tally, 21 Palestinians, including attackers, have been violently killed since that date.