Clashes erupted Monday morning at the Temple Mount’s Al Aqsa complex between Israeli security forces and Palestinian rioters, CBN News reports.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, which is part of the International Red Cross, 278 Palestinians have been injured so far since the clashes began. Additionally, police report that at least 12 officers have been injured. Police also stated that Arab and Israeli people were also injured by rocks being thrown at them in the Old City. The Clashes erupted in the Sheikh Jarrah area of eastern Jerusalem.
Early Monday, hundreds of rioters in the Temple Mount threw rocks and other debris at police, who fired stun grenades in response. “Thousands of police and Border Police personnel have been deployed since the early morning hours across Jerusalem and the Old City to safeguard events and the public’s safety,” police said in a statement obtained by JNS news.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), an Israeli watchdog group, cited Hamas, Fatah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihadists’ calls for martyrdom and terror as the reason for the attacks. MEMRI also released a quote from the International Union of Muslim Scholars’ planned Friday sermon on Jerusalem. The sermon promotes a series of calls for violence by groups of Muslim religious leaders.
The late-night clashes greatly elevate the threat of worse unrest as Israel celebrates Jerusalem Day. Jerusalem Day commemorates Israel’s reunification of eastern and western Jerusalem after the Six-Day War. Thousands of Israelis typically march through Jerusalem to commemorate the event. However, this year, due to fear of violent protests at the spot, Israeli police closed the Temple Mount to Jews on Monday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement concerning the horrific events. “This is a battle between tolerance and intolerance, between lawless violence and order. Elements that want to expropriate our rights periodically force us to stand strong, like Israel’s police officers are doing. I back the officers in this just struggle.”
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Amir Levy/Stringer
John Paluska has been a contributor for Christian Headlines since 2016 and is the founder of The Washington Gazette, a news outlet he relaunched in 2019 as a response to the constant distribution of fake news.
