Israeli police raid Al-Aqsa Mosque, scores injured
Israeli police have raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque in an occupied East Jerusalem on Friday, medics said, at least 67 Palestinians have been injured.
The Islamic endowment that runs the site said, “Israeli police entered in force before dawn on Friday, as thousands of worshippers were gathered at the mosque during the holy month of Ramadan”
Israel said its forces entered to remove rocks and stones that had been gathered in anticipation of violence. The holy site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, has often been the epicentre of tension.
The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said, it evacuated the majority of the wounded to hospitals. The endowment said one of the guards at the site was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet.
“Israeli forces had hindered the arrival of ambulances and paramedics from reaching the mosque, as Palestinian said dozens of injured worshippers remained trapped inside the compound,” The Palestinian Red Crescent added.
Israeli police said they entered the compound, the third holiest site in Islam and revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, to break up a violent crowd that remained.
They dispersed and push back the crowd after a group of Palestinians began throwing rocks towards the nearby Jewish prayer space of the Western Wall.
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Al-Jazeera
