Global criticism and concern mounted on Wednesday after clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians inside Islam’s third holiest site triggered a military exchange of rockets and airstrikes that were feared to escalate.
The army and witnesses said two more rockets were fired from the Israeli-blockade Gaza Strip toward Israel late on Wednesday in violence that flared up during both the Jewish Passover and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Armed police in riot gear stormed the prayer hall of the Al-Aqsa mosque before dawn on Wednesday, with the aim of removing “law-breaking youths and masked agitators” they said had barricaded themselves inside.
Police video showed officers showering rocks and fireworks, and more than 350 people were arrested.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “shocked and appalled” by the images of Israeli security forces beating people in a mosque, especially as it came at a holy time for Jews, Christians and Muslims, a period of peace. Should be, his spokeswoman said.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US was “extremely concerned by the continued violence and we urge all parties to refrain from further escalation”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country and Israel are rebuilding ties, said: “Trambling on the Al-Aqsa Mosque is our red line.”
Violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has escalated since the new government of veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took power in December, which is a coalition with far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties.
Palestinian witness Abdel Karim Ikraim, 74, alleged that Israeli police armed with batons, tear gas grenades and smoke bombs entered the mosque “by force” and “beat women and men” worshiping there.
A video widely circulated on social media showed police beating people on the floor inside the mosque.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it had treated 37 people, including some after their release from custody.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir voiced “full support” for the police and their “swift and firm” actions.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, called on West Bank Palestinians to “massively go to the Al-Aqsa Mosque to defend it”.
The mosque in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem sits on what Jews call the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism.
It has been a frequent flashpoint, and clashes there in May 2021 sparked the latest Gaza War, which lasted 11 days.
– Rocks and Fireworks –
On the streets of Gaza, protesters burned tires and swore an oath to “protect and defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque”.
Peace returned to the compound by late morning, when Israeli police escorted a group of Jewish visitors through the site. An official told AFP police were allowing only those 60 and above.
Israeli police said Palestinians had barricaded themselves inside the mosque since Tuesday evening ahead of Passover, which begins on Wednesday.
Police were “forced to enter the compound to evict them with the intention of allowing Fajr (dawn) prayers and preventing violent disturbances”, prompting them to leave after prolonged negotiating attempts with the Palestinians. failed, said a police statement.
“When the police entered, stones were hurled at them and fireworks were set off from inside the mosque by a large group of agitators,” the police said.
Netanyahu said, “the security forces were forced to act in order to restore order”.
Within hours, at least nine rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel, the army said, adding that “in response” warplanes struck two suspected Hamas arms-manufacturing sites.
AFP reporters said the airstrikes were followed by new rockets fired from Gaza and further Israeli strikes.
Later on Wednesday, witnesses reported two more rockets being fired from northern Gaza. Israel said that “one launch failed” and fell in Gaza, while the other landed on the border “in the area of the security fence”.
Islamic Jihad, another Gaza-based militant group, called the rockets a “first warning message”.
– ‘Result’ –
Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh condemned the Israeli police action inside Al-Aqsa, saying “the level of brutality requires immediate Palestinian, Arab and international action”.
Germany urged both sides to “do everything possible to defuse the situation”.
The Arab League condemned the “attack on loyalists” and called an emergency meeting.
Jordan, which administers the mosque, condemned its “storming”, and called on Israeli forces to leave the compound immediately.
The United Arab Emirates and Morocco, which established ties with Israel in 2020 as part of a US-brokered agreement, also strongly condemned the Israeli police crackdown.
A statement from the UAE Foreign Ministry rejected all practices that “threaten to further exacerbate the escalation”. It also criticized worshipers who “restrain themselves”.
Rabat’s foreign ministry stressed the need “to avoid violations and measures that harm the possibility of peace in the region”.
The Gulf emirate of Qatar, which does not recognize Israel, has warned that Israeli practices “will have serious implications for security and stability in the region, and the stalled peace process if the international community does not act quickly.” will undermine revival efforts.” ,
So far this year, the conflict has claimed the lives of at least 91 Palestinians, 15 Israelis and one Ukrainian, according to an AFP tally based on official sources on both sides.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)