Violence flares at al-Aqsa mosque as Israel marks Jerusalem Day
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[May 10, 2021]
By Jeffrey Heller
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Palestinian protesters
threw rocks and Israeli police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets in
clashes outside al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem on Monday, as Israel marked
the anniversary of its capture of parts of the city in the 1967
Arab-Israeli war.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said more than 275 Palestinians
were injured in the violence, and at least 205 of them were taken to
hospitals. Several of the Palestinians were in critical condition and
police said 12 officers were injured.
Al-Aqsa, Islam's third-holiest site, has been a focal point of violence
in Jerusalem throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The clashes
have raised international concern.
Tensions were particularly high as Israel marked "Jerusalem Day", its
annual celebration of the capture of East Jerusalem and the walled Old
City that is home to Muslim, Jewish and Christian holy places.
In an effort to ease the situation, Israeli police said they had banned
Jewish groups from paying Jerusalem Day visits to the holy plaza that
houses al-Aqsa, and which Jews revere as the site of biblical Jewish
temples.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/May/10/images/ads/current/chicagost_sda_HG_2020.png)
Police were also considering whether to reroute a traditional Jerusalem
Day march in which thousands of Israeli flag-waving Jewish youth walk
through the Old City's Damascus Gate and the Muslim Quarter.
Police fired tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets at hundreds of
Palestinians who hurled rocks at them on al-Aqsa's stone-strewn plaza,
witnesses said.
The violence at the holy compound abated several hours after it began
and witnesses said Israeli police had begun allowing Palestinians over
the age of 40 to enter.
In public remarks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was
determined to uphold law and order in Jerusalem while preserving
"freedom of worship and tolerance for all".
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![](../images/051021pics/news_o47.jpg)
A member of Israeli police runs after a cameraman during clashes
with Palestinians at the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque, known
to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in
Jerusalem's Old City, May 10, 2021. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
![](../images/ads/current/centraldirect_lda_SPONSOR_2021.png)
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas, accused "Israeli occupation forces" of
conducting a "brutal raid" at al-Aqsa.
Israel views all of Jerusalem as its capital, including the eastern
part that it annexed in a move that has not won international
recognition. Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a
state they seek in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
PLANNED EVICTIONS
Tensions have also been fuelled by the planned evictions of several
Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East
Jerusalem.
Israel's attorney-general secured a deferment on Sunday of a Supreme
Court hearing on Monday in the long-running evictions case that had
threatened to stoke more violence.
A lower court had found in favour of Jewish settlers' claim to the
land on which the Palestinians' homes are located, a decision seen
by Palestinians as an attempt by Israel to drive them out of
contested Jerusalem.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan expressed "serious
concerns" about the situation in Jerusalem, including the potential
evictions, in a call with his Israeli counterpart on Sunday.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed on Sunday his
concern over the situation.
(Editing by Gareth Jones, Angus MacSwan and Timothy Heritage)
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