Israeli police raid Al-Aqsa mosque, rockets fired from Gaza

The incident obtained right here all through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and on the eve of the Jewish Passover, stoking fears of further violence on the mosque compound, a flashpoint inside the Israeli-Palestinian battle.

By Reuters:

Israeli police raided Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque sooner than dawn on Wednesday to try to clear groups it talked about have been barricaded inside, leading to clashes with worshippers and triggering an commerce of crossborder hearth with Gaza.

The incident obtained right here all through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and on the eve of the Jewish Passover, stoking fears of further violence on the mosque compound, a flashpoint inside the Israeli-Palestinian battle.

Palestinian militants fired a minimum of 9 rockets from Gaza into Israel, prompting air strikes from Israel which hit what it talked about have been weapon manufacturing web sites for the Islamist group Hamas, which controls the blockaded coastal enclave.

Hamas did not declare obligation for the rocket assaults nonetheless talked about they’ve been a response to the raid on Al-Aqsa, the place clashes in 2021 set off a 10-day wrestle with Gaza.

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Ground-shaking explosions from the airstrikes rocked Gaza. Witnesses talked about Israeli tanks moreover shelled Hamas positions.

“We are not interested in an escalation but we are ready for any scenario,” Israeli navy spokesman Daniel Hagari talked about.

The Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, is Islam’s third holiest web page and tens of 1000’s come to hope there all through Ramadan. It will be Judaism’s most sacred web page, revered as Temple Mount, a vestige of the two biblical Jewish temples.

The Palestinian Red Crescent talked about 12 Palestinians had sustained accidents all through the raid, along with from rubber-tipped bullets and beatings, in clashes with police. It talked about Israeli forces had prevented its medics from reaching the realm.

“In the yard to the eastern part of the compound, the police fired tear gas and stun grenades,” talked about Fahmi Abbas, a worshipper who was on the mosque when the raid occurred. “Then they stormed in and started beating everyone.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked about the state of affairs had been attributable to “extremists” who barricaded themselves contained within the mosque with weapons, stones and fireworks.

“Israel is committed to maintaining freedom of worship , free access to all religions and the status quo on the Temple Mount and will not allow violent extremists to change that,” he talked about in a press launch.

STUN GRENADES

Videos circulating on social media, which Reuters could not independently verify, confirmed fireworks going off and police beating people inside one in every of many mosque buildings. Police video confirmed police coming into the setting up whereas hearth crackers exploded inside the darkness.

“I was sitting on a chair reciting (the Koran),” an aged woman knowledgeable Reuters exterior the mosque, struggling to catch her breath. “They hurled stun grenades, one of them hit my chest,” she talked about, crying.

Israeli police talked about officers entered the compound after what it known as masked agitators locked themselves contained within the mosque and after makes an try to remove them by dialogue failed.

More than 350 people inside have been arrested and away from the compound, police talked about.

“Throughout the presence of police forces in the compound, stones were thrown and multiple firecrackers were set off inside the mosque by many law-breaking individuals and rioters,” the police assertion talked about, together with that two officers have been wounded.

Thousands of worshippers had been spending the night inside the mosque compound amid fears of attainable clashes with Jewish visitors to the placement for Passover.

Under a longstanding “status quo” affiliation governing the compound, non-Muslims can go to nonetheless solely Muslims are allowed to worship. Some Jewish visitors have an increasing number of prayed there no matter that affiliation.

The Waqf, the Jordanian-appointed Islamic organisation that manages the sophisticated, described the police actions as a “flagrant assault on the identity and the function of the mosque as a place of worship for Muslims alone”.

CONDEMNATION

“Leaders on all sides must act responsibly and refrain from steps that could escalate tensions,” talked about the U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland.

The United States talked about it was alarmed by the violence.

The Arab League condemned Israel’s “extremist approach” and talked about it may keep an emergency meeting on Wednesday.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China requested the 15-member United Nations Security Council to debate the state of affairs behind closed-doors on Thursday, talked about diplomats.

The UAE’s abroad ministry moreover talked about “worshippers should not barricade themselves inside the mosque and places of worship with weapons and explosives”.

Jordan and Egypt, every involved in newest U.S.-backed efforts to de-escalate Israel-Palestinian tensions, issued separate statements condemning the incident. Saudi Arabia, with which Israel hopes to normalise ties, talked about Israel’s “storming” of Al-Aqsa undermined peace efforts.

“Israel’s aggression against the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound is an egregious assault on the basic right of Palestinians to worship freely in their holy site,” the Palestinian abroad ministry talked about in a press launch.

With Israel nonetheless reeling from weeks of protests over Netanyahu’s plans to rein inside the powers of the Supreme Court, the incident added to an already fevered political ambiance.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has obligation for the police nonetheless not the armed forces, known as for a harsh response from Israel.

“Hamas rockets require more than blasting dunes and empty sites. It’s time to rip heads off in Gaza,” he talked about in a tweet.

In the West Bank metropolis of Beit Ummar, protesters burned tyres and threw rocks and explosive items at Israeli troopers, one in every of whom was shot and wounded. Separately, a gunman opened hearth on a army checkpoint between Jerusalem and Bethlehem with out inflicting any casualties.

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Published On:

Apr 6, 2023