New day of tension in Jerusalem, with Gaza militias on alert

Jerusalem, Apr 20 (EFE).- Tensions between Israel and Palestinian territories continued on Wednesday in Jerusalem.

The incidents began in the Temple Mount in occupied East Jerusalem, where Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian protesters.

Some of the protesters threw stones and Molotov cocktails from inside the Al Aqsa Mosque, according to the Israeli foreign ministry.

The episodes on the Esplanade came as religious Jews accessed the site, escorted by Israeli security forces.

These visits, which have intensified this week during the Jewish Passover celebrations, are considered a provocation by the Palestinian faithful, whose presence in the site has also increased on the occasion of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The Holy City has also witnessed a far-right Jews rally claiming revenge for the Palestinian attacks that killed 14 Israelis in recent weeks.

Although the march’s organizers tried to reach the Arab neighborhood of the Old City, the march was interrupted by police.

Meanwhile, groups of Palestinian youths gathered at the Damascus Gate, the main access to the Arab neighborhood, in an attempt to block the far-rightists’ access, causing minor incidents with the security forces.

The Jews’ march put the Gaza Strip militias on alert as they have been threatening a new armed conflict in case the incidents continue in the Esplanade.

The Islamist movement Hamas, the strip’s facto ruler, warned it will defend “the Arab identity of the Al Aqsa Mosque” against “the repeated assault by settlers Zionists.”

Clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian protesters occurred in different parts of the occupied West Bank, where over 20 Palestinians have been killed in the last month in Israeli security forces’ raids. EFE

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