More than 20 Palestinians and Israelis were injured in several incidents in and around the Al-Aqsa mosque complex in Jerusalem, two days after heavy violence at the site of the blaze.
Sunday’s clashes increased the number of wounded from Friday to more than 170, amid tense times when the Jewish holiday of Easter coincides with the month of the Muslim fast of Ramadan.
They are also tracking the deadly violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank in late March, which killed 36 people.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Sunday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.
Jews are allowed to visit but not pray at the site, also known as the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism and the third holiest site in Islam.
Israeli police said their forces had entered the complex to “remove” the protesters and “restore order”.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 19 Palestinians were injured, including at least five who were hospitalized. It says some were injured by rubber-coated steel bullets.
Early Sunday morning, Jewish pilgrims were spotted leaving the site – barefoot for religious reasons – protected by heavily armed police.
Outside the Old City, in Israel’s annexed East Jerusalem, Palestinian youths threw stones at passing buses, smashing their windows, and seven people were treated for minor injuries, Shaare Zedek Hospital said.
Police said they had arrested 18 Palestinians, and Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev said Israel would “act strongly against anyone who dares to use terrorism against Israeli citizens.”
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said security forces “continue to be free … for any action that will ensure the security of Israeli citizens”, while stressing that every effort should be made to allow members of all religions worship in Jerusalem.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II – who serves as the guardian of the holy sites in East Jerusalem – called on Israel on Sunday to “end all illegal and provocative measures” that lead to “further deterioration”.
Senior Palestinian official Hussein al-Sheikh said that “the dangerous escalation of Israel in the Al-Aqsa complex … is an outright attack on our holy sites” and called on the international community to intervene.
Palestinians at the Al Aqsa complex on Sunday. Photo: Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
The leader of the Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, had earlier warned Israel that “al-Aqsa is ours and ours alone.”
“Our people have the right to have access to it and to pray in it, and we will not worship [Israeli] repression and terror, “Ismail Haniya said in a statement.
Israel’s torn ruling coalition, meanwhile, faced a new split on Sunday when the Arab-Israeli party, Raam, “suspended” its membership amid violence in Jerusalem.
The government – an ideologically different mix of left-wing, hardline Jewish nationalist and religious parties, as well as Raam – had already lost its razor-sharp majority this month when a religious Jewish member left over a dispute over the distribution of sourdough bread in hospitals.
Since then, clashes around the Al-Aqsa complex have put Raam under pressure to leave as well.
“If the government continues to take action against the people of Jerusalem … we will resign as a bloc,” Raam said in a statement, hours after the latest injuries around Al Aqsa.
The UN has called for calm a year after clashes in and around the mosque complex escalated into an 11-day war between Israel and Palestinian extremists in Gaza.
Weeks of growing tensions have sparked two recent deadly Palestinian attacks in or near the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv, along with mass arrests by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.
A total of 14 people have been killed in attacks on Israel since March 22nd.
Twenty-two Palestinians were killed during the same period, including assailants targeting Israelis, according to AFP.
Police clashed with Palestinians at the Al Aqsa complex, including the Al Aqsa Mosque, on Friday morning, sparking strong condemnation from Muslim countries. About 150 people were injured in the clashes.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday that he would contact all countries to “stop the escalation of Israel”, a statement from the Abbas office said.
Pope Francis prayed for peace on Sunday as Christians celebrated Easter at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, where they believe Jesus died and rose again. In his Easter address, the pontiff said: “Let the Israelis, Palestinians and all who live in the Holy City, together with the pilgrims, experience the beauty of peace, live in brotherhood and enjoy free access to holy places with mutual respect for rights. from everyone.”
Despite the tension, hundreds of Christians staged a lively parade in Jerusalem, with processions led by marching bands with deafening drums and howling bagpipes.
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