Dozens injured in new clashes at Al-Aqsa compound on final Friday of Ramadan
Jerusalem, Apr 29 (EFE).- More than 40 people were injured in fresh clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound on the final Friday of Ramadan.
According to Israeli police, officers entered the compound and used “riot dispersal means” after Palestinians threw rocks and fired fireworks.
Local witness reports say police used tear gas and rubber bullets. Officers also arrested at least two people.
Some 42 people were injured in the clashes, with 22 transported to hospital, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service.
Later in the morning, the situation quietened and worshipers arrived for midday prayers calmly, said the police.
Across the month of Ramadan, clashes between young Palestinians and Israeli police have taken place each Friday – the day tens of thousands of worshipers from across the region arrive in Jerusalem for midday prayers – once again escalating tension in the Holy City.
The Al-Aqsa mosque compound, within the walls of the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem, is the third holiest place in Islam and the most sacred for Jews, who call it Temple Mount.
In turn, it is a symbol of the Palestinian cause and one of the epicenters of the Palestine-Israel conflict.
Friday’s riots also come after a spike in violence in the region between late March and April, when several attacks on Israeli territory resulted in 14 deaths.
These were followed by extensive army raids in the occupied West Bank, where more than 20 Palestinians have since been killed, including two in the last week. EFE
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