Israeli police entered Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound before dawn on Wednesday and clashed with worshippers, in what police claimed was a response to ‘rioting’ that set off a furious reaction across the West Bank and crossborder strikes in Gaza.
As dozens of heavily armed Israeli officers stormed the site, they fired stun grenades and tear gas into the Qibli prayer hall, where hundreds of men, women, elderly people and children were praying overnight. Some eyewitnesses said rubber-coated steel bullets were also fired.
Overnight, at least nine rockets were fired from Gaza by Palestinian freedom fighters, prompting air strikes from Israel, which struck what it claimed were Hamas ‘training camps’, setting off ground-shaking explosions that were heard across the blockaded coastal strip.
Israeli officers then beat worshippers with batons and riot guns, wounding many, before arresting them. Their conditions were not immediately made clear.
The videos show Israeli forces brutally beating worshipers within the mosque, while children and women cry for help.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it received multiple reports of injuries at Al-Aqsa Mosque but was unable to estimate the number of casualties as Israeli forces blocked medics from reaching the wounded. One medic was attacked by an Israeli police officer and wounded outside one of the mosque’s gates.
The PRCS has been informed that those injured in the raid have been evacuated, but it is not known by whom or where.
There have been dozens of injuries reported by local media, including bruises, fractures, and breathlessness caused by tear gas inhalation. Some videos from the scene published online showed people apparently unconscious.
A female eyewitness told local media that women were let out but the men were harshly beaten and arrested.
“Every single one of them was harshly beaten. Every single man,” she said.
According to the Israeli police, dozens of “rioters” have been detained at Al-Aqsa Mosque during an effort to restore order. The Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ Affairs estimates that between 400-500 men have been arrested.
#BREAKING: Israeli armed forces beat Palestinian worshippers in the Al-Qibli Prayer Hall in the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday night pic.twitter.com/vjjkhJtXeE
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) April 4, 2023
Witnesses said Israeli tanks also shelled Hamas positions along the border fence in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli police claimed in a statement that security units were “forced to enter” the compound after what it called masked agitators locked themselves inside the mosque with fireworks, sticks and stones.
Palestinian lawyer Firas al-Jibrini said police arrested around 500 people who were taken for questioning.
Author: Maria Sarfraz (@mariaa.sarfraz)
