Israeli Police entered the Temple Mount complex on Sunday, April 17 to disperse and detain Palestinians who had pelted stones at Jewish visitors to stop them from entering the holy site in Jerusalem’s Old City. As per the Israeli Police, hundreds of Palestinians had gathered at the site to block the Jewish visitors. They pelted stones on buses carrying the Jewish visitors to the holy site to stop them from entering.
Hundreds of youths had stockpiled rocks along with iron bars and created makeshift barricades to prevent non-Muslims from entering the site. Most of them were masked, said the Police. Reports suggest that the stone-pelting resulted in injuries to some passengers inside the buses.
Five people are lightly hurt after Palestinians hurl stones at a bus near Jerusalem’s Old City, MDA says. Police say two suspects have been arrested. pic.twitter.com/M7N6EZIGvH
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 17, 2022
Seven of the injured visitors were taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in the city by the Magen David Adom ambulance service.
As per Red Crescent, around 17 Palestinians also sustained injuries after the clash with the Israeli Police on Sunday morning. Some of them have been shifted to the hospital. Around nine Palestinians were arrested by the Police during the clash.
In a statement, the Police said its officers were pushing the Palestinians away from the site to allow visitors. Alongside the visits, freedom of worship will continue to be fully preserved for the worshipers on the Temple Mount. The Israel Police will continue to act against lawbreakers and rioters.” Later, visuals showed Jewish visitors touring the site.
אחרי ניסיונות של מוסלמים לחסום את המתחם: הר הבית נפתח לכניסה של יהודים@VeredPelman
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 17, 2022
(צילום: אור נחמיה) pic.twitter.com/2EkOKYYG22
During the weeklong Passover holiday, many Jews make a traditional pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Notably, Non-Muslims are allowed to visit the Temple Mount only during certain hours. They are not allowed to pray at the site. For Jews, it is the holiest site in Judaism. While for Muslims, it is the third-holiest site in Islam.
This year, Passover happened during the month of Ramzan. During the holy month for Muslims, the Old City sees a higher number of clashes between Muslims and non-Muslims. Also, the city is holy for the Christians who make a pilgrimage during Easter. The authorities had seen three holidays of different faiths falling during the same week as a possibility of violence.
Hamas banner at Temple Mount
A group of Palestinians also hung a banner of the terror group Hamas on Temple Mount. The banner read, “Hamas calls for a general mobilization and the repulsion of the herd of settlers threatening to invade al-Aqsa.”
שלט שנתלה ערב במתחם מסגד אל אקצא בהר הבית: “חמאס קורא לכם להתגייסות כללית ולהדיפת עדר המתנחלים שמאיימים לפלוש לאל אקצא”@SuleimanMas1 pic.twitter.com/TTbHWwSyQZ
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 16, 2022
Earlier, a violent clash took place between Israeli Police and Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday. Around 158 Palestinians were reportedly injured, mostly due to tear gas inhalation. The Palestinians had pelted stones and used fireworks against the armed Police, and in retaliation, the Police used force and tear gas shells.
The Police had raided the mosque to clear it of the stockpiled stones. Dozens of arrests were made during the raid. It took six hours to clear the premises and the afternoon prayers were peaceful, with around 50,000 Muslims taking part in the prayers. Last year in May, a similar Police crackdown at the mosque triggered an 11-day war in Gaza.
