Palestinians clash with police on Temple Mount
Clashes broke out between Border Police and Palestinian worshipers at the Temple Mount on Friday, Israel Police said in a statement.
Video footage taken at the compound shows Palestinians throwing rocks at a unit of Border Police officers, who in turn responded with firing rubber bullets to quell the unrest.
Nine Palestinians were injured, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Israel Police notes that the clashes began after Friday afternoon prayers, when several hundred worshipers made their way into the compound via the Chain Gate.
At the end of prayers, several dozen youths began to throw stones at the police officers stationed at the entrance to the compound.
The Jerusalem District Commander of the Border Police force ordered officers to locate suspects involved in disturbing the peace.
Police said 16 people were arrested for throwing stones and rioting.
The unrest occurred after the Air Force conducted airstrikes on Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip on Thursday night in response to Palestinians continuing to launch arson balloon attacks against Israeli communities near the strip.
Clashes at the Temple Mount were one of the purported reasons that Hamas and its allied terror groups in the Gaza Strip began firing the opening salvos resulting in the IDF’s Operation Guardian of the Walls, and have since warned that Jerusalem is a “red line.”
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry relayed in clear terms to his Israeli counterpart, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, that escalation with the Palestinians should be avoided at all costs while rebuilding the Gaza Strip, according to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.
Meanwhile, violent confrontations erupted between Palestinians and IDF soldiers near Beita in the West Bank, with at least 47 Palestinians hurt from tear gas inhalation and rubber-tipped bullets, according to the Red Crescent.
There have been repeated clashes in the area in recent weeks after settlers reestablished the Evyatar outpost on nearby land.