Thursday April 6, 2023
By Dalia Hatuqa and Zaheena Rasheed
The Dome of the Rock lies in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a holy site for Muslims and a national symbol for Palestinians. Ultranationalist Jews have increased their attempts to pray on the site in recent years [File Photo: Ilan Rosenberg/Reuters]
- Israeli police have raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound using stun grenades and firing rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinian worshippers.
- Videos emerging from the site show armed troops forcibly emptying the mosque from worshippers.
- Armed police in riot gear stormed the prayer hall of Al-Aqsa Mosque before dawn on Wednesday, the second night in a row that they raided the mosque.
- The Palestinian Red Crescent reports at least six people have been injured in the latest raid.
What’s behind the Ramadan raids at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque?
Israeli forces regularly storm Al-Aqsa Mosque as Palestinian worshippers visit the site during Ramadan.
Tensions in Jerusalem have flared after Israeli police attacked worshippers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound overnight during the holy month of Ramadan.
The raids continued until Wednesday morning when Israeli forces were once again seen assaulting and pushing Palestinians out of the compound and preventing them from praying – before Israelis were allowed in under police protection.
What happened in Al-Aqsa compound?
Before dawn on Wednesday, Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, attacking dozens of worshippers in the Qibli Mosque.
Israeli police, who claimed they were responding to “rioting”, beat worshippers with batons and used tear gas and sound bombs to force them out of the prayer halls, according to witnesses.
Videos shared on social media showed women screaming for help as a small fire erupted in the prayer hall.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported 12 people injured, including three who were taken to hospital. It also said in a statement that Israeli forces prevented its medics from reaching Al-Aqsa.
At least 400 Palestinians were arrested and remain in Israeli custody, according to local officials.
Why would armed security forces enter a mosque?
Israeli police said in a statement that they were forced to enter the compound after “masked agitators” locked themselves inside the mosque with fireworks, sticks and stones.
“When the police entered, stones were thrown at them and fireworks were fired from inside the mosque by a large group of agitators,” the statement said, adding that a police officer was wounded in the leg.
The Israeli police also said that according to a prior agreement with the Al-Aqsa compound authorities, no one was to spend the night inside the compound during the month of Ramadan.
“The police said they ‘peacefully’ tried to convince people to leave but when that didn’t happen they forced their way into Al-Aqsa,” said Al Jazeera’s Natasha Ghoneim.
But Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh condemned what happened as “a major crime against the worshippers”, adding that “prayer in Al-Aqsa Mosque is not with the permission of the [Israeli] occupation … it is our right.”
“Al-Aqsa is for the Palestinians and for all Arabs and Muslims, and the raiding of it is a spark of revolution against the occupation,” he added.