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Hundreds of people have been wounded in fresh clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in Jerusalem as a planned march marking Israel’s 1967 takeover of the holy city threatened further violence.
Palestinians hurled projectiles at Israeli officers in riot gear who fired rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear gas, following a night of sporadic clashes centered around the Old City.
Shocking CCTV also revealed the moment an Israeli driver was pelted with rocks by protesters near the Lions’ Gate entrance to the Old City, before ramming his car into them and getting stuck on the pavement.Â
The man was pelted with rocks for several more minutes before a gun-wielding police officer arrived. Despite that, clashes continued as he was pictured in a fist-fight in the street moments later.
‘There are hundreds of people injured from the clashes’ and about 50 were hospitalised, the Palestinian Red Crescent said about the latest unrest since violence escalated following the last Friday prayers of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
The clashes were the latest in days of the worst such disturbances in Jerusalem since 2017, fuelled by a years-long bid by Jewish settlers to take over nearby Palestinian homes in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.
A key court hearing scheduled for Monday on Sheikh Jarrah, the flashpoint east Jerusalem neighbourhood at the centre of the property dispute, has been postponed.
There were fears of further violence in the city ahead of a planned march Monday by Israelis to commemorate Israel’s takeover of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War, an anniversary known as ‘Jerusalem Day’ in the Jewish state.Â
Shocking CCTV has revealed the moment Palestinian protesters pelted an Israeli man’s car with rocks during clashes near Jerusalem’s Old City, before he drove into crowds
A gun-waving policeman eventually came to the man’s aid as protesters continued throwing rocks, with hundreds of people injured in violence today
Moments later, the man was involved in a fist-fight with police just inches away amid the worst violence that Jerusalem has seen in recent years
Palestinian medics evacuate a wounded protester from the Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City amid clashed with security forces that have seen hundreds hurt
Israeli police detain a protester near the compound that houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque during clashes today
Israeli police arrest a Palestinian man at the Lions’ Gate, as clashes continue at the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem
Medics evacuate a protester who was injured near the Lions’ Gate entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City amid fresh violence on the streets today, amid fears it could escalate further
Clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians began during Ramadan, but dramatically escalated at the weekend with fighting around the Al-Aqsa mosque
Medical workers evacuate a wounded protester from near the Dome of the Rock, Judaism’s holiest site that sits just next to the Al Aqsa Mosque which has been at the centre of clashes
An injured man is helped to his feet by a passerby inside the Temple Mount/Haram esh-Sharif compound in Jerusalem
Israeli security forces detain a Palestinian protester amid clashes at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City amid some of the worst clashes in the city for years
Israeli security forces clash with Palestinian protesters at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound today
A member of Israeli police aims a weapon during clashes with Palestinians at the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque
Israeli riot police are seen forming a shield wall near the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City amid violent clashes with Palestinian protesters that have entered their third day
Israeli police had, as of Sunday, approved the march, which was scheduled to start around 4:00 pm (1300 GMT).
The leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party, Bezalel Smotrich, has also announced a visit Monday to the tense Sheikh Jarrah district.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday defended Israel’s response to the protests and rioting.
‘We will uphold law and order – vigorously and responsibly,’ Netanyahu said while vowing to ‘guard freedom of worship for all faiths’.Â
But the Israeli role in the hostilities – especially Friday’s clashes at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam’s third holiest site – has met widespread criticism.
All six Arab nations that have diplomatic ties with Israel – Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan – have condemned the Jewish state.
In Jordan, the custodian of Jerusalem’s holy Islamic and Christian sites, King Abdullah II condemned ‘Israeli violations and escalatory practices at the blessed Al-Aqsa mosque’.
Jordan and Egypt both summoned Israeli envoys on Sunday to lodge protests.
Tunisia said the UN Security Council was to hold a closed-door meeting Monday, at its request, on the violence.
The Middle East quartet of envoys from the European Union, Russia, the United States and the United Nations – and Pope Francis – have all called for calm.
‘Israeli authorities must exercise maximum restraint and respect the right to freedom of peaceful assembly,’ UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
The Red Crescent said a total of more than 300 Palestinians were wounded on Friday and Saturday nights.
The UN children’s agency UNICEF said that over two days, 29 Palestinian children had been injured in east Jerusalem, including a one-year-old. Â
Clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinian protesters have been centered around the Asl-Aqsa Mosque. Today, at Lions’ Gate, a car was filmed driving into protesters as they pelted it with rocks. Later today, a Jerusalem Day procession is due to pass through Damascus Gate and through the Muslim quarter of the city, amid fears it will spark more clashes
Israeli police detain a Palestinian man during clashes around the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem
Israeli security forces detain a Palestinian man near Jerusalem’s Old City, amid clashes that are the worst to have hit the city since at least 2017
Palestinian medics evacuate a wounded protester from the Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City
Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, which has seen three days of violence amid fears the situation could worsen further today
Palestinians who had gathered near the Al Aqsa Mosque ahead of a march to the nearby Dome of the Rock by Israelis later today are dispersed by Israeli security forces
Palestinians take cover as Israeli police open fire with tear gas and rubber bullets while medics rush to help the injured
A Palestinian man rushes to get rid of a tear gas grenade amid clashes with Israeli security forces near the Dome of the Rock
Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City
A member of Israeli security forces runs amid clashes with Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem’s Old City
Israeli police detain a Palestinian during clashes at the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque, known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount
Medics tend to a wounded Palestinian during clashes with Israeli police at the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque
A Palestinian man is confronted by Israeli security forces in Jerusalem’s Old City ahead of a planned Jerusalem Day march that is likely to inflame tensions further
The unrest of past weeks in east Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim as their future capital, has multiple causes.
Much of the recent violence stems from a long-running legal effort by Jewish settler groups to evict several Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah.
A lower court ruling earlier this year backing the settlers’ decades-old claim to the plots infuriated Palestinians.
A Supreme Court hearing on a Palestinian appeal had been set for Monday, but the justice ministry said Sunday that in light of ‘all the circumstances’ it would delay the hearing.
Old City shopkeeper Mohammad said Israeli police told him he must close Monday afternoon, when Israeli Jews plan to march with Israeli flags to mark Jerusalem’s ‘reunification’.
Israel annexed east Jerusalem following the 1967 takeover, a move not recognised by most of the international community.
The unrest has spread across the Palestinian territories, including demonstrations and clashes in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has expressed ‘full support for our heroes in Al-Aqsa’.
Hamas Islamists who control the Gaza Strip have also voiced support for the Palestinian protesters and warned Israel of retribution if evictions proceed in Sheikh Jarrah.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh called Sunday for a united Arab and Muslim response against Israel’s ‘provocative desecration of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque’.
Four rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel on Sunday, the army said, as well as incendiary balloons that started 39 fires on Israeli territory, according to the fire services.
The Israeli military said late Sunday that ‘tanks just struck Hamas terror targets in Gaza’, without giving further details.
Jewish men wave Israeli flags as they gather at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, ahead of a planned Jerusalem Day march amid fears of further violence
Jerusalem Day marks Israel’s victory over Egypt, Jordan and Syria during the Six Day War of 1967 during which they seized control over the city. A parade, which forms part of the celebration, is due to take place today
Jewish men wearing the traditional Jewish prayer shawls known as Tallit gather near the Western Wall ahead of a Jerusalem Day march that could further inflame tensions in the city
Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City
Medics treat a wounded man during clashes with Israeli security forces at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound
An Israeli police officer carries a shattered riot shield through the Temple Mount compound surrounded by rocks following clashes with Palestinian protesters
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