After Israeli riot police clashed with Palestinians late Friday at Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, more than 160 people were injured, capping a week of violence in the Holy City and the occupied West Bank.
Officers were pelted with stones, bottles, and fireworks as they fired rubber bullets and stun grenades into the crowds at Islam’s third holiest site, which is also revered by Jews as the site of two biblical-era temples.
At least 163 Palestinians and six Israeli officers were injured in Al-Aqsa and other parts of east Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, which said it had opened a field hospital because emergency rooms were overcrowded.
Officers were called in to restore order after “thousands of worshippers” rioted after evening prayers, according to police.
Tensions in Jerusalem have risen in recent weeks as Palestinians protested Israel’s restrictions on access to parts of the Old City during Ramadan, and after authorities ordered several Palestinian families to leave their homes to make way for Israeli settlers.
The US called for a “de-escalation” of the situation in east Jerusalem, warning that the threatened evictions could worsen the situation, while the UN warned that the forced evictions could amount to “war crimes.”
Friday’s unrest occurred on Al-Quds Day, an annual day of pro-Palestinian rallies organised by Iran, Israel’s arch-enemy, which also saw thousands march in majority-Muslim countries across the region and as far as Pakistan.
Violence week
Israeli security forces killed two Palestinians and wounded a third earlier on Friday after the trio opened fire on the Salem base in the occupied West Bank, according to police. The incident came after days of bloody clashes and killings.
A 19-year-old Israeli was killed in a drive-by shooting at the Tapuah junction bus stop in the West Bank on Sunday.
