Israeli riot police clashed with Palestinian worshippers at Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound Friday, capping a week of violence in the Holy City and the occupied West Bank.
Palestinians hurled stones, bottles and fireworks at police who fired rubber bullets and stun grenades in the disturbances at Islam’s third-holiest site, which is also revered by Jews as the location of two biblical-era temples.
At least 14 Palestinians and six Israeli police officers were hurt in the latest flare-up as tensions have soared in recent days in annexed east Jerusalem over an eviction threat hanging over four Palestinian families.
Israeli police said in a statement that because of the “rioting of thousands of worshippers” after the evening prayers, security forces had to “restore order”.
The United States called for “de-escalation” and said the threatened evictions could “worsen” the situation in east Jerusalem, as the United Nations warned the forced evictions could amount to “war crimes”.
Friday’s unrest came on Al-Quds (Jerusalem in Arabic) Day, an annual day of pro-Palestinian rallies held by Iran, the arch-enemy of Israel, which also saw many thousands rally in countries across the region and as far as Pakistan.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said at least 14 Palestinians were wounded at Al-Aqsa, many hit in the head and eyes by rubber bullets fired by Israeli police.
Israeli police spokesman Waseem Bader told AFP that police used force to disperse “violent disturbances” after “rioters” threw stones, bottles and other objects at officers, injuring three.
The clashes erupted as Muslims packed the Al-Aqsa compound, to pray on the last Friday of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
Dozens of shots rang out and smoke hung over the area in Jerusalem’s Old City, witnesses and an AFP journalist said.
Al-Aqsa is a highly sensitive site. The second Palestinian intifada broke out in 2000 after a visit there by then right-wing Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon, seen as a painful provocation by Palestinians.
– Week of violence –
Earlier on Friday, Israeli security forces killed two Palestinians and wounded a third after the trio had opened fire on the Salem base in the occupied West Bank, police said.
Tamir Pero, spokesman of Israel’s border police, told AFP Palestinian attackers armed with rifles began running toward officers and shooting.
Officers “took cover behind concrete blocks and returned fire”, killing two attackers and critically wounding a third, he said.
Friday’s unrest follow days of clashes and other shootings.
On Sunday, a 19-year-old Israeli was fatally wounded in a drive-by shooting at the Tapuah junction bus stop, in the West Bank.
Israeli security forces said they had arrested Montasser Shalabi, 44, near Ramallah, on suspicion of carrying out the attack. Palestinian sources said Shalabi is a dual US national.
On Wednesday, Israeli troops killed a 16-year-old Palestinian when they opened fire on protesters throwing petrol bombs, also in the West Bank.
In the east Jerusalem Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood near the Old City, a series of clashes broke out in recent days between police and protesters, fuelled by a years-long land dispute between Palestinian refugees and Jewish settlers.
Police said they made 26 arrests between Wednesday and Thursday, while the Red Crescent said 22 Palestinians were injured in Wednesday night clashes.
Police said protesters torched a vehicle and threw stones outside a house occupied by Jewish settlers.
Palestinians also traded insults with far-right Israeli lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir, who visited Sheikh Jarrah to voice support for the settlers.
By Friday afternoon, a crowd of protesters had returned to the site, where Israeli police also fired stun grenades.
– Possible ‘war crime’ –
In Jordan — home to a large Palestinian population — hundreds rallied, chanting “we will die for Sheikh Jarrah”.
Jordan administered the West Bank, including mostly Arab east Jerusalem, until the 1967 Six-Day War and remains the custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.
Earlier this year, a Jerusalem district court ruled four Palestinian homes in Sheikh Jarrah legally belonged to Jewish families.
The Jewish plaintiffs claimed their families lost the land during the war that accompanied Israel’s creation in 1948, a conflict that also saw hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced from their homes.
The Sheikh Jarrah families have provided evidence that their homes were acquired from Jordanian authorities, who controlled east Jerusalem from 1948 to 1967.
Israel’s Supreme Court is to hold a new hearing in the case on Monday.
Several other homes also face eviction threats that affect a total of 58 Palestinians, according to settlement watchdog Peace Now.
