At least 57 Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli police in the Al-Aqsa Muslim area of ​​Jerusalem on Friday, paramedics said, as violence continued during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at a Jewish venue.
In what could have been a major conflict, Israel said two rockets were fired at Gaza, one of which fell and one hit the border without injuries. It was the third such incident this week, breaking months of calm in the Gazan area. Al-Aqsa sits on the plains of the Old City of East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 war and was joined by a movement that did not gain international recognition. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their country with hope for the future.
A case of obstruction of Islam
Caccuse Israel of obstructing Islamic worship in Al-Aqsa – the third most holy place in Islam – while not doing enough to force a long-term ban on compound Jewish worship. Israel denies this. Israeli police said they intervened when hundreds of people threw stones and explosives and approached the Western Wall, where Jews were worshiping. A female police officer was injured by a stone and a tree was set on fire as a result of the explosions, police said.
Israeli police say people have thrown stones, explosives
Eyewitnesses said police entered the compound after a morning prayer for Ramadan and fired rubber bullets and grenades, some of whom were throwing stones. Police also used a drone to drop tear gas. The escalation of violence in Jerusalem has sparked fears of a recurrence last year between Israelis and the Hamas Islamists ruling in Gaza.
Violence evokes fears of extinction into widespread conflict
Hamas troops “hold fingers on triggers, and we will defend the Al-Aqsa mosque with all our might,” Hamas official Mushir al-Masri told a rally in northern Gaza.
As of March 22, Arab militants have killed 14 people in Israel, including three policemen, and Israeli forces have killed at least 14 Palestinians, including gunmen and civilians, in the West Bank, say medical personnel. Ramadan coincides with the Jewish Passover celebration this year. That has brought many Muslim and Jewish tourists to the compound, the remains of two ancient Jewish temples. As in previous years, Israel has suspended Jewish visits during the last days of Ramadan, from Friday, an Israeli official said.
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