Fear of further escalation: Israeli police clash with Palestinian worshippers near Al-Aqsa Mosque

(Patria) - Israeli police raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem around midnight and attacked Palestinian worshippers, Palestinian media report, causing fear of wider tensions as Islamic and Jewish holidays overlap, AP writes.

The incidents have sparked a wave of Palestinian protests, condemnations, and violence. The Israeli military announced that sirens warning of incoming rockets sounded in Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip. Tensions have been high for months in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and fears of further violence have been fueled by the approaching Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Passover.

Such clashes in the disputed holy compound, the third holiest site in Islam which is also the holiest site in Judaism and is called the Temple Mount, have sparked wars between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in the past, the last being in 2021.

Video footage on social media shows Israeli police beating Palestinians with batons and rifle butts inside the mosque atop the hill revered by both Muslims and Jews. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that dozens of worshippers, who had been praying all night during Ramadan, were injured when police stormed the mosque.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the violence. Israeli police said they used force to extract worshippers who were hiding in the mosque with fireworks, stones, and sticks. They added that one police officer was injured in the leg by a stone and that dozens of "rioters" were arrested.

Palestinian Protests

The violence in Jerusalem has sparked protests and condemnations from Palestinians. In Gaza, Hamas called for large protests, and people began gathering in the streets, with calls to head towards the heavily guarded Gaza-Israel border for more violent demonstrations.

The Palestinian leadership condemned the attack on worshippers. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's spokesperson, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, warned Israel that such a move "crosses all red lines and will lead to a major explosion.".

In Gaza, Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad also called on Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Israel to gather around the Al-Aqsa Mosque and clash with Israeli forces. Earlier on Tuesday, a suspected Palestinian stabbed two Israelis near a military base south of Tel Aviv, police said, in the latest incident in a year-long wave of violence that shows no signs of abating.

The Magen David Adom medical service reported that two men sustained serious and minor stab wounds respectively in the incident on a highway near the Tsrifin military base. The men were taken to a nearby hospital. Israeli media identified the victims as soldiers. Police said civilians at the scene apprehended the suspected attacker, who was taken in for questioning. Israeli-Palestinian violence has escalated over the past year, with the Israeli military conducting nightly raids on Palestinian cities, towns, and villages, and Palestinians carrying out numerous attacks on Israelis.

At least 88 Palestinians have been killed by Israel this year, according to AP data. Palestinian attacks on Israelis have resulted in 15 deaths in the same period, AP concludes.