Israeli border police detain a Palestinian woman at the Al-Aqsa compound, also known to Jews as the Temple Mount, as tensions rise during clashes with Palestinians in Jerusalem’s Old City (Image: Reuters)
The raids have become an annual flashpoint during Ramadan after far-right Jewish groups called for a goat to be sacrificed for Passover at the Al-Aqsa compound.
Israel saw the heaviest barrage of rockets from Lebanon on Thursday, the first time such an attack has been launched on the West Asian nation in 17 years. The last time Israel saw similar attacks was in 2006 during the Second Lebanon War.
The rockets were fired a day after Israeli forces clashed with protesters and worshipers who came to the Al Aqsa Mosque to offer prayers amid the holy month of Ramadan.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque complex is a holy site for followers of Islam, but it is now also an important national symbol for Palestinians. In the same area is the Temple Mount, one of the holiest sites for followers of Judaism.
This is not the first time Israeli security officials have cracked down on worshipers inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque. West Asia-based news outlets have said that the Al-Aqsa Mosque has become an annual flashpoint during Ramadan.
Hundreds of Palestinians were arrested and several dozen were injured in 2022 as Israeli protesters accused ‘some’ protesters and rioters of the Hamas terrorist group.
This week it was no different. 400 Palestinians were arrested and 12 Palestinians were injured, three of whom were hospitalized with serious injuries.
Here’s a timeline of events that have put the region on high alert:
- April 4, 2023: On Wednesday night, clashes broke out between Israeli police, riot-control units and Palestinian worshipers inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, police reportedly arrested around 400 people, while seven people were injured. Haaretz,
- April 4, 2023: Palestinians praying inside the mosque were attacked by Israeli security personnel. witnesses tell AFP And reuters that police armed with batons, tear gas shells and smoke bombs “forcefully” entered the mosque and “beaten women and men” worshiping there in the early hours of Wednesday. He also said that the police thrashed women and men indiscriminately, including senior citizens, and a video surfaced on social media showing police beating people on the floor inside the mosque.
- April 5, 2023: Israel police say they were forced to act because some ‘teenagers’ entered worshipers in ‘masks’. They say that these rioters, who are supported by Hamas, have entered the mosque and surrounded themselves with sticks, stones and firecrackers, due to which they have to take punitive action. al Jazeera, Haaretz, AFP And reuters It noted that Hamas asked worshipers to take control of the mosque after reports of goats being sacrificed for Passover, which coincides with Ramadan.
- April 6, 2023: Hezbollah says it will support measures that all Palestinian groups will take to avenge Wednesday’s actions by Israeli police officers. Hamas administers the Gaza Strip and has close ties to Iran-backed Hezbollah. Meanwhile, the US, the United Nations, Turkey and other global institutions appeal for calm in the troubled region.
- April 6, 2023: 34 rockets are launched from southern Lebanon toward Israel – an area Hezbollah and Hamas control and also home to thousands of Palestinian refugees. Iron Dome and anti-aircraft units intercept 25 and five fall within Israeli territory. Location of four rockets unknown.
- April 6 – April 7, 2023: On Friday morning, Israel carried out airstrikes in Gaza and Lebanon, claiming it was retaliating against the Palestinian group Hamas for launching several rockets from these areas towards Israel . AFP Journalists in Lebanon’s Tire and Gaza refugee camps.
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