New clashes in the Esplanade of the Mosques in Jerusalem leave almost 300 injured

Almost 300 people were injured this Monday, mostly Palestinians, in new clashes with Israeli policemen on the Esplanade of the Mosques in Jerusalem after a weekend of riots in the Holy City.

Faced with the increase in violence, the UN Security Council, at the request of Tunisia, must meet later this Monday to address the situation in Jerusalem.

The resumption of the confrontations coincides with the celebration, according to the Hebrew calendar, of the “Jerusalem day” which marks the conquest of the eastern part of the city by Israel in 1967.

In the morning, hundreds of Palestinians fired projectiles at Israeli security forces in the Esplanade of the Mosques, the third holy place of Islam that the Jews call the Temple Mount.

An AFP journalist saw how ambulances evacuated dozens of wounded from the esplanade.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported more than 278 wounded Palestinians, of whom 205 required hospitalization. At least five patients are in critical condition.

“We fear that something serious will occur today”, Dr. Adnan Farhud, general director of the Makassed hospital, told AFP, evoking injuries with rubber bullets in the eyes and face.

Nine officers were injured, according to Israeli police.

Not far from the esplanade, a car carrying Israelis was attacked with stones and lost control before ramming Palestinians, according to police and images from a journalist at the scene.

Once immobilized, several people attacked the vehicle firing projectiles at the passengers, before an Israeli policeman dispersed them by firing into the air.

Law

The Israeli police said in a statement to work to try to stop the violence in the esplanade, but also “in other sectors of the Old City of Jerusalem.”

“Prayer continues as usual” at the Wailing Wall, a sacred place of Judaism and adjacent to the Esplanade of the Mosques. But “we will not let extremists threaten the safety of the public,” he added.

On Friday night, more than 200 people were injured in clashes between the police and Palestinians in the Esplanade of the Mosques.

On Saturday and Sunday, calm returned to the square, but the clashes moved to other areas of East jerusalem, where more than 100 people were injured, according to the Red Crescent.

The Israeli police also reported injuries among their ranks.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that his country “It will continue to guarantee freedom of worship, but will not allow violent disturbances.”

“We will enforce law and order, firmly and responsibly” declared Netanyahu, who defended the expansion of the Jewish colonies in the eastern part of Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel since 1967.

“Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Just as each nation builds its capital, we also have the right to build in Jerusalem. This is what we have done and this is what we will continue to do”, he added.

From Sheikh Jarrah to Gaza

One of the causes of the recent tension in East jerusalem It is the future of several Palestinian families of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, threatened with expulsion for the benefit of Israeli settlers.

“In light of the current context”, the Israeli Supreme Court postponed a hearing on the case scheduled for Monday, the Justice Ministry announced.

In addition, incendiary balloons and rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave controlled by Hamas Islamists. Israel in support of protesters from Jerusalem.

The Israeli army announced the firing of seven more rockets on Sunday night and early Monday, two of which intercepted the Israeli ‘Iron Dome’ anti-missile system.

In retaliation, Israeli tanks “attacked military posts” of Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip, said the army, which also closed the Erez border crossing, the only one that allows Gazans to pass into Israel.

The United States, Israel’s main ally, called on senior “Israeli and Palestinian officials to act to end the violence” and expressed concern about “the possible expulsion of Palestinian families from Sheij Jarrah”.

United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan – Arab countries that have normalized relations with Israel – expressed their “deep concern” and called for Israel to calm down, as did the Quartet for the Middle East (United States, Russia, the UN and European Union), which called for “moderation.”

“We appeal to the Muslim world. It’s time to say + stop + to Israel’s cowardly and tyrannical attacks,” the communication director of the Turkish presidency, Fahrettin Altun, tweeted.

The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, urged Israel to “stop the demolitions and expulsions, in accordance with its obligations” stipulated by international law.

In a Sunday message, Pope Francis called for an end to violence in Jerusalem, since “violence only begets violence”.

In Jordan, a country at peace with Israel since 1994, hundreds of protesters in Amman demanded the closure of the Israeli embassy and the expulsion of its ambassador.