![]() This year’s overlap of Ramadan and Passover increases the possibility of friction as the city hosts an unusually large influx of pilgrims. The Temple Mount, located in occupied East Jerusalem and holy to both Jews and Muslims, is regularly the scene of violence. Israeli police said: “Following many continuous attempts to remove the individuals from the mosque using dialogue failed, police were forced to enter the compound in order to remove the individuals.” They detained people and put the young men face down on the ground while they continued beating them.” “Then they stormed in and started beating everyone. It was a scene that I can’t describe,” said Fahmi Abbas, a worshipper at the mosque. “In the yard to the eastern part of the compound, the police fired teargas and stun grenades. Firas al-Jibrini, a Palestinian lawyer, said police arrested about 500 people who were taken for questioning. The Palestinian Red Crescent said 14 people sustained wounds from rubber-tipped bullets, beatings, teargas inhalation and stun grenades, and that Israeli forces had prevented its medics from reaching the area. Palestinians also threw stones at officers, according to the police. ![]() Unverified video of the confrontations at al-Aqsa showed police hitting people with the butts of rifles and batons, and Palestinians throwing fireworks and firecrackers in the darkness. Palestinians under the age of 45 were not permitted to enter the compound for dawn prayers. Arrested Palestinians trickling out of Atarot police station on Wednesday said they were released on the condition of not entering the mosque or the Old City for one week. Hamas did not claim responsibility for the rocket launches, but the group’s deputy, Saleh al-Arouri, said: “Attacking Islamic sanctities will have a great price and we will burn the ground under their feet.”īy late Wednesday morning, tensions appeared to have subsided. Jewish visitors have increasingly prayed more or less openly at the site in defiance of the rules, and Israeli restrictions on Muslim worshippers' access to the site have led to protests and outbreaks of violence. Under the longstanding "status quo" arrangement governing the area, which Israel says it maintains, non-Muslims can visit but only Muslims are allowed to worship in the mosque compound. The compound has long been a flashpoint for deadly violence over matters of sovereignty and religion in Jerusalem. Jordan, whose ruling Hashemite family has custodianship of the Muslim and Christian sites, appoints members of the Waqf institution, which oversees the site. Israel captured the site in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it with the rest of East Jerusalem and adjoining parts of the West Bank in a move not recognised internationally. A second temple was razed by the Romans in AD70. ![]() Jews believe biblical King Solomon built the first temple there 3,000 years ago. The compound overlooks the Western Wall, a sacred place of prayer for Jews, for whom the Temple Mount is their most sacred site. Al-Aqsa is the name given to the whole compound and is home to two Muslim holy places: the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, which was built in the 8th century AD. Muslims regard the site as the third holiest in Islam, after Mecca and Medina. Al-Aqsa mosque sits at the heart of Jerusalem's Old City, on a hill known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary, and to Jews as the Temple Mount.
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