By Dalia Hatuqa
Published On 5 Apr 20235 Apr 2023 (AlJazeera)
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.
· Not a “surprise” that violence has broken out: Al Jazeera correspondent
Speaking about the lead-up to the violence at the Al-Aqsa mosque on Wednesday, Al Jazeera correspondent Natasha Ghoneim said, “What we saw happening today was not in any way a surprise for those of us who covered this issue extensively.”
“On Tuesday, there were calls on social media by Hamas and others urging Palestinians to go to Al-Aqsa mosque and, quote, defend it from the occupiers,” she explained.
“The reason this call was going out was Wednesday was Passover for Jews and there was expected, during visiting hours for non-Muslims, to be a greater number perhaps of Jews visiting the Al-Aqsa compound.”
These visits, she added, were a “very hot-button issue” for Palestinians.
“The Jews that tend to go into the compound are nationalists. They possess very conservative ideology. They are prohibited from praying inside the compound. But we do know that that ban has been violated on numerous occasions and that, again, is a real provocation to not only Muslims but all Palestinians.”
- 31m ago
(20:55 GMT)
Israeli attacks on Al-Aqsa not confined to Ramadan: Palestinian journalist
The attacks on Al-Aqsa are part of systemic violence exercised by Israeli forces, and do not occur only during Ramadan, said Mariam Barghouti, the Palestine correspondent for the news website, Mondoweiss.
“The attacks on Al-Aqsa [don’t] just happen in Ramadan,” she told Al Jazeera. “They have happened on a nearly daily basis in the past year – Palestinian worshippers [are constantly being] attacked.”
“This comes less than 24 hours since Israeli forces invaded Al-Aqsa Mosque yesterday in the evening.
“The assault is extending outside the walls of the old city. This is showing escalation and a promise of more violence.”
What’s behind the Ramadan raids at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque?
- 46m ago
(20:40 GMT)
PA spokesman: Israeli raid into Al-Aqsa ‘slap to US efforts’ to establish calm
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, has said, “Israel’s raid into Al-Aqsa mosque, its assault on worshippers, is a slap to recent US efforts which tried to create calm and stability during the month of Ramadan.”
Abu Rudeineh is referring to the summits held in the Egyptian and Jordanian towns of Sharm el-Sheikh and Aqaba respectively, where officials from the US, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Jordan agreed on a series of steps to de-escalate violence in the occupied territories.
- 57m ago
(20:29 GMT)
Acts in Al-Aqsa Mosque compound a ‘red line’
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier condemned the Israeli police raid overnight on Wednesday, calling such acts in the mosque compound a “red line” for Turkey.
“I condemn the vile acts against the first qibla of Muslims in the name of my country and people, and I call for the attacks to be halted as soon as possible,” Erdogan said.
“The name of this is the politics of repression, the politics of blood, the politics of provocation. Turkey can never remain silent and unmoved in the face of these attacks. Putting a hand on Al-Aqsa Mosque and trampling on its sanctity is a red line for us.”
Read more about how the world reacted to Israel’s attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque.
- 57m ago
(20:28 GMT)
Israeli police clear Al-Aqsa Mosque of worshippers: AJ correspondent
Israeli police have cleared Al-Aqsa mosque of worshippers using rubber-coated steel bullets and teargas.
“The mosque has been cleared. There is no one any longer inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” said Al Jazeera’s Natasha Ghoneim, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem.
Israeli authorities have claimed that some Palestinians “barricaded” themselves inside the mosque.
Traditionally, during Ramadan, Muslims stay up all night at mosques in a process known as “i’tikaf”.
1h ago
(20:22 GMT)
Six Palestinians injured, according to Palestinian Red Crescent
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has said that at least six Palestinians have been injured by Israeli police who have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Israeli forces are using stun grenades, rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas, videos emerging from the site are showing.
(Al Jazeera)
- 1h ago
(20:14 GMT)
Israeli police storm Al-Aqsa Mosque for second night in a row
Armed Israeli police stormed the prayer hall of Al-Aqsa Mosque, attacking Palestinian worshippers for the second night in a row.
Videos from the holy site have begun to emerge, showing a scene reminiscent of the night earlier, when Israeli police armed with batons, tear gas grenades and smoke bombs, burst into the mosque and beat worshippers, including women.