Status: 04/22/2022 2:41 p.m
Violence broke out again on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem – several people were injured. One reason for the tense situation is that the Muslim Ramadan and the Jewish Passover festival coincide this year.
There have been renewed riots between Israeli police and Palestinians in the area around the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, 31 people were injured, 14 of them were taken to the hospital. A police officer was apparently hit in the face with a rock.
According to Israeli police, the Palestinians had collected stones and built fortifications before dawn. Officials intervened when hundreds of people approached the Wailing Wall, which is sacred to Jews. Some Palestinians threw stones and firecrackers. Flags of the militant Islamist Hamas were also waved.
Situation calmed down in the morning
“Police officers took action to disperse the crowd to stop the violence,” a police statement said. The officers waited for morning prayers and then entered the grounds of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, police said. They used rubber bullets and stun grenades, two anonymous Palestinian witnesses told the AP news agency.
During the course of the morning, the situation calmed down, the stone-throwing stopped and the police withdrew.
Holy place for three religions
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. The place is considered a holy site in Islam, Judaism and Christianity. The current regulation allows non-Muslims to visit the Temple Mount – however, public prayer is reserved for Muslims.
Palestinians accuse Israel of wanting to soften the rule. Israel’s Foreign Minister Jair Lapid contradicted this accusation: Israel is preserving the status quo. He called on “all leaders in the region to act responsibly to calm the tense situation”.
The situation is particularly tense this year, partly because the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, coincides with the Jewish festival of Passover, which means that more people from both religious groups are visiting the site. Then there is the Christian Easter. Therefore, tensions had been expected in advance. Israel has banned Jewish groups from visiting the Temple Mount since Friday.
violence escalates
Already on April 15 there were riots between the Israeli police and Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. More than 150 Palestinians and three Israeli police officers were apparently injured. Since then there have been repeated minor clashes.
Earlier in March, there had been four attacks in Israel carried out by Palestinians or Arab Israelis, killing a total of 14 people. 24 Palestinians, including attackers, have also been killed in operations by the Israeli security forces since March 22.