JERUSALEM, Aug 13 (NNN-WAFA) – Clashes erupted between Muslim worshippers and Israeli police in East Jerusalem’s holy site on Sunday, which drew condemnation from the Palestinian government.
A video footage taken by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, an Islamic religious trust that controls and manages the Al-Aqsa Mosque, showed the police fired stun grenades at worshippers there.
Ikrima Sabri, a preacher at the scene, said, the Israeli police “stormed into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and tried to evict worshippers out of it by force.”
The Palestinian Red Crescent said, 14 Palestinians were injured, as the Israeli police stormed the mosque.
Israeli police said, thousands of Muslim worshippers were rioting and hurling stones, chairs and other objects at the police, adding, four police officers were lightly wounded in the clashes.
“The district commander ordered the dispersal of the rioters and restored public order,” the statement said.
Israeli media reported that, the clashes had subsided but later erupted again, after Jewish visitors were allowed to enter the site, to mark a Jewish holiday.
The clashes sparked fresh tensions and condemnation from Palestine.
Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation executive committee, held Israel responsible for “fuelling religious tensions in Jerusalem.”
“We condemn this aggression, which is reprehensible and dangerous,” Ashrawi said in a statement.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, held the Israeli government responsible for “settlers’ incursions” into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Rudeineh said, Abbas is holding contacts with “all relevant parties, to stop the Israeli escalation” against Palestinians and holy sites, warning Israel not to “transform this conflict from a political one into a religious one.”
Since Sunday marked the beginning of Eid al-Adha, or the “Festival of Sacrifice,” thousands of Palestinian worshippers went to the Al-Aqsa mosque for prayer.
This year, the Islamic festival coincides with the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av, a day of mourning for Jews, which therefore sees an increased number of Israeli visitors to the holy site in Jerusalem.
In an attempt to avoid friction, the Israeli police first barred Israeli visitors on Sunday, but following calls by right-wing political leaders, the site was opened to visitors, resulting in a fresh round of clashes.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is one of the most volatile sites in the region.
Under a long-held status quo, Israeli Jews are allowed to visit the site but not to pray there.
In recent years, ultra-nationalist Israeli Jews have been challenging the status quo, demanding the government increase the numbers of Jewish visitors to the site and allow prayers.
Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future independent state, while Israel wants all of Jerusalem to be its eternal capital.– NNN-WAFA
