SETTLERS ENTER AL AQSA WITH POLICE PROTECTION
▶ Countries criticise Israel after violence between troops and Palestinians
Dozens of Israeli settlers have entered the courtyard of Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem under the protection of the Israeli police.
It came after officers had earlier prevented Palestinians from entering for fajr prayers on Thursday, local media reported.
Israeli police had on Wednesday forced their way into the flashpoint site for a second night in a row as Palestinian worshippers were spending the night, witnesses told Reuters.
Police entered the compound and tried to remove worshippers using stun grenades and firing rubber bullets, said employees of Waqf, the organisation responsible for running the affairs of the mosque.
Worshippers threw objects at police, witnesses said.
International criticism grew after clashes between police and Palestinians inside Islam’s third-holiest site sparked a military exchange of rockets and air strikes.
Two more rockets were fired late on Wednesday from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, the army and witnesses said, in flaring violence during Ramadan and the Jewish Passover. Armed police in riot gear stormed the prayer hall of Al Aqsa Mosque before dawn on Wednesday, aiming to dislodge “lawbreaking youths and masked agitators” they said had barricaded themselves inside.
Police said they were “forced to enter the compound in order to get them out with the intentions to allow the fajr [dawn] prayer and to prevent a violent disturbance”, after prolonged attempts at talking with the Palestinians.
A barrage of rocks and fireworks met the officers, police video showed, and more than 350 people were arrested.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was “shocked and appalled” by images he saw of Israeli forces assaulting people at the mosque, particularly because it came at a time holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims that should signal a period of peace, his spokesman said.
The Arab League on Wednesday strongly condemned the situation, saying it jeopardised regional stability.
After an emergency meeting on the incident, the League condemned “crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against defenceless Muslim worshippers”.
White House National Security Council spokesman John
Kirby said the US was “extremely concerned by the continuing violence and we urge all sides to avoid further escalation”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country has been rebuilding ties with Israel, said: “Trampling on Al Aqsa Mosque is our red line.”
Violence in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has intensified since the new government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a coalition with the extreme right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, took power in December.
Mr Netanyahu said “security forces were compelled to act in order to restore order”.
Palestinian witness Abdel Karim Ikraiem, 74, said Israeli police armed with batons, tear gas grenades and smoke bombs burst into the mosque “by force” and beat women and men worshipping there.
One video widely circulated on social media showed police clubbing people on the floor inside the mosque.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it had treated 37 people, including some after their release from custody.
“The safety of civilians is at risk,” it said on Wednesday evening. It had been denied access to the sick and the injured, in a breach of international humanitarian law, the organisation added. Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar BenGvir voiced “complete backing” for police and their “swift and determined” actions.
Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, called on West Bank Palestinians “to go en masse to Al Aqsa Mosque to defend it”.
On Gaza’s streets, protesters burnt tyres and swore “to defend Al Aqsa Mosque”.
Calm had returned to the compound by late morning, when Israeli police escorted the group of Israeli settlers through the site.
Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Hussein Al Sheikh condemned the Israeli police action inside Al Aqsa.
“The level of brutality requires urgent Palestinian, Arab and international action,” Mr Al Sheikh said.
Jordan condemned its “storming”, and called on Israeli forces to leave the compound immediately.
The UAE and Morocco also strongly condemned the Israeli police action. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation rejected all practices that “threaten to further exacerbate escalation”.
It also criticised worshippers who “barricade themselves”.