Israeli police storm Esplanade of Mosques, injuring 31 Palestinians
The esplanade of the mosques in Jerusalem has again witnessed clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian demonstrators, confrontations that have left at least 31 injured.
According to the AFP news agency, Israeli police stormed the compound and were hit by stones thrown by the Palestinian side. They, in turn, were injured by rubber bullets and tear gas, resulting in dozens of people suffering from asphyxiation.
The Palestinian Red Crescent also reports that its workers in Jerusalem have assisted a total of 31 people injured during the Israeli police assaults on the Al-Aqsa mosque on the third Friday of Ramadan. They further report that "Israeli police forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque" and add that "a number of snipers climbed onto the roofs adjacent to the mosque and fired rubber-coated metal bullets directly at worshippers".
On the other hand, the Israeli channel "12" reported that the Inspector General of Police had arrived in the "Old City" in the West Bank to instruct the Border Guard reserve forces to "prepare to join his units if necessary".
Alongside this, police sources told the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" that there is some "fear" that the clashes that erupted after Friday prayers will move to other Arab areas of the city.
The ongoing violence prompted Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs Yael Lambert and Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs Hadi Amr al-Juma'a to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his top advisers.
At the meeting, they discussed the need to "reach calm" and underlined their mutual commitment to working towards a two-state solution. Meanwhile, Muslims in the city feel increasingly threatened by the possible organisation of a 'flag march' around the walls surrounding the Old City of Jerusalem.
The confrontations in the esplanade of the mosques were not the only ones. During the early hours of this morning, several Israeli boats fired their machine guns at fishing boats in the sea belonging to the Rafah Governorate, located south of the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian News Agency reported that Israeli soldiers "opened their heavy machine guns on the fishing boats working in the Rafah Sea, amid flares, when they were forced to leave the sea".
These new attacks come on the heels of several clashes in the city of Jerusalem between Muslims and Jews, a wave of violence that, while not new, is ongoing.
The Arab Ministerial Committee met this week to condemn these practices as "a blatant provocation to the feelings of Muslims everywhere". Similarly, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on the United States to intervene to mediate "immediately and urgently".
They inform that they have asked the US "to intervene to assume its responsibilities given the gravity of the situation". In addition, the communiqué issued indicates that the Palestinian leadership will have the right to implement the decision issued by the Central Council, which would include halting security coordination with Israel following "the lack of a political horizon and the Israeli refusal to stop unilateral actions, and to comply with the agreements signed".
In this vein, Abbas warned against the continuation of "Israeli escalation on the ground" as well as the assault on cities, villages, Palestinian farmers and acts of assassination of Palestinians and reported that such actions would lead to "terrible and unbearable consequences".
