In the aftermath of clashes on the Mosques Esplanade in the Holy City, the Israeli police dispersed, Saturday evening, May 8, with a putrid water cannon Palestinian demonstrators throwing stones in a neighborhood in East Jerusalem. The new clashes left more than 90 injured, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent told Agence France-Presse (AFP), adding that the incidents had occurred in the areas of Sheikh Jarrah, Damascus Gate. and Bab Al-Zahra.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said at least seventeen people were injured by rubber bullet holes.
On the Esplanade des Mosques, Islam’s third holiest site, a crowd of Palestinians, however, prayed in peace after iftar, the fast breaking meal during Ramadan.
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A stopped bus
In the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, the scene of daily protests for several days against the possible eviction of Palestinian families in favor of Israeli settlers, Palestinians again took to the streets and threw stones at the Israeli forces. These have deployed the “Skunk”, a putrid water cannon, in order to disperse the protesters, according to an AFP correspondent on the spot.
Israeli police said earlier today that they had restricted access to the Old City of East Jerusalem to prevent Palestinians from “Participate in violent riots”. A bus coming from south of Jerusalem was thus stopped and some of the Palestinian passengers were arrested by the police, noted an AFP journalist.
“They want to prevent us from going to Al-Aqsa [une mosquée sur l’esplanade] “said Ali Al-Komani, 40, a craftsman standing near the entrance to the holy site.
“Israel acts responsibly to uphold law and order in Jerusalem while ensuring freedom of worship”Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a meeting with security officials.
More than 200 injured on Friday
For weeks, tensions have been high in Jerusalem but also in the West Bank, another Palestinian territory occupied by Israel, where Palestinians have demonstrated against the access restrictions imposed by Israel in certain areas during Ramadan and the possible eviction of Palestinians from Sheikh. Jarrah.
On Friday, violent clashes pitted Palestinian worshipers against Israeli police officers who entered the precincts of the Mosques plaza.
Images relayed on social media showed police officers storming the site and firing stun grenades into buildings, where worshipers, including women and children, were praying. Police officers closed the doors of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, blocking worshipers for an hour, an AFP journalist noted.
According to the Israeli police, worshipers threw bottles and other projectiles in the direction of the policemen guarding the entrances to the plaza who retaliated with stun grenades and rubber bullets.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, at least 205 Palestinians were injured, including more than 80 hospitalized, the vast majority on the Mosque Plaza. Police reported 18 wounded in its ranks.
Protests supported by Hamas
The clashes on the esplanade were the most violent since those of 2017, when Israel decided to place metal detectors at the entrance to the site, before giving it up.
Hamas, the Islamist movement in power in Gaza, called on the Palestinians to stay on the plaza until Thursday – the day to mark the end of Ramadan – and threatened Israel with attacks if the Supreme Court upholds, in a decision expected this Monday, the evictions of Sheikh Jarrah.
In the Gaza Strip, near the fence separating Palestinian territory from Israel, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas to disperse Palestinian protesters.
Incendiary balloons were also fired from Gaza into southern Israel but without causing damage, according to the Israeli authorities.
Early Sunday morning a rocket was launched from Gaza “To Israeli territory”, said the IDF, adding that its air force responded by hitting “A Hamas military post” in the southern Gaza Strip.
Actions condemned by the international community
After clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli police officers which raised fears of a new escalation, the four members of the quartet for the Middle East (UN, European Union, United States and Russia) expressed on Saturday their “Deep concern about the daily violence and clashes in East Jerusalem”.
“We are alarmed by the provocative statements made by some political groups, as well as the launching of incendiary rockets and balloons from Gaza into Israel, as well as the attacks on Palestinian farms in the West Bank, adds the press release. We call on the Israeli authorities to exercise restraint and avoid actions that could escalate the situation during this period of Muslim holy days. “
The United States has also called on “Israeli and Palestinian officials to act to end the violence” and expressed their concern about “The potential expulsion of Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah”.
Leader of the Arab Gulf monarchies, Saudi Arabia has denounced these possible expulsions. Iran, Tunisia, Pakistan and Egypt have condemned the Israeli actions. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calls Israel a State “Cruel terrorist”.
And Jordan, guardian of Muslim holy sites in East Jerusalem and neighboring countries that have signed peace with Israel, denounced a “Savage aggression” against the Palestinians.
