More than 60 Palestinians injured in New Jerusalem clashes
More than 200 Palestinians and at least 17 Israeli police were wounded in skirmishes near Al-Aqsa mosque, emergency workers and police said on Friday. Protesters hurled stones at the police at Damascus Gate in the Old City, and officers responded with stun grenades, rubber bullets and water cannon. Palestinian medics said 90 Palestinians were wounded. Israeli police said at least one officer was hurt. It follows days of simmering unrest over possible evictions of Palestinians from land claimed by Jewish settlers.
More than 200 Palestinians and at least 17 Israeli police were wounded in skirmishes near Al-Aqsa mosque, emergency workers and police. Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque complex is one of Islam's most revered sites, but its location is also the holiest site in Judaism, known as the Temple Mount. The complex is a frequent flashpoint for violence, but Friday's was among the worst in years. On Saturday of Middle East negotiators - the US, the EU, Russia and the UN - expressed "deep concern" over the spiralling violence.
In a separate development on Saturday, Israel's military said Palestinian militants fired a rocket from the Hamas-run Gaza The IDF did not provide any more details. Still, Israeli media reported that the rocket landed in an open field, causing no injuries or damage. Saturday's clashes broke out at Damascus Gate after tens of thousands of worshippers had prayed at Al-Aqsa mosque for Laylat al-Qadr, the holiest night in the Muslim month of Ramadan. The Palestinian Red Crescent said at least 90 Palestinians were hurt and 14 taken to hospital.
Earlier on Saturday, Israeli police had stopped dozens of buses carrying worshippers to the mosque, and several Palestinians were arrested after Friday's violence.” They do not want us to pray. There is a fight every day; every day, there are clashes. Every day there are troubles," Mahmoud al-Marbua, 27, told Reuters news agency. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was acting responsibly to ensure law and order while maintaining freedom of worship. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas condemned what he said were Israel's "sinful attacks".
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