BREAKING: Major Violence At Temple Mount - Hundreds Injured Israeli Forces Storm Al Aqsa Mosque

At Least 178 Reportedly Injured as Clashes Between Palestinians, Israeli Police Ongoing in Jerusalem

[It is hard to see this not erupting into a major war which, at this point seems to look a lot like Isaiah 17...If there was a spark needed for a war, its hard to imagine anything more significant than something like this at the temple mount]

The city of Jerusalem saw heated squabbles between Palestinians and Israeli riot police on late Friday, with the latter saying that Palestinian worshippers who arrived at the Temple Mount started "disturbing the order" by throwing stones and fireworks.

The clashes sparked after weeks of tensions between Jews and Arabs during the holy month of Ramadan, with recent Israeli court rulings looming that would make it possible for dozens of Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood to be evicted from their homes. While the Palestinians point out they have been living in the area for generations, the Jewish settler organization Lahav Shomron and the deputy Jerusalem mayor, Aryeh King, claim that the land in question "rightfully" belongs to Jews.​

The Palestinian Red Crescent organization has revealed that 178 Palestinians were injured during the clashes, with some 88 hospitalized. 

According to Israeli police, six officers were injured during the altercations in Jerusalem. 

"At the end of the prayer on the Temple Mount, thousands of worshipers began to disturb the order, throwing stones and firing fireworks. Israeli police forces are operating at the scene and so far six policemen have been injured in the disturbances. The district commander is in the arena assessing the situation and has ordered the continued increased alertness towards the end of the prayers", according to an Israeli police tweet.

Video recorded at the site of squabbles between riot police and protesters show worshippers violently clashing with officers, as fireworks are seen exploding, while crowds flock the streets near the Temple Mount area and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

​One video allegedly shows a border policewoman being hit in the face with a stone during the unrest at the holy site.

Videos show that riot police struggle to curb the unrest by using of rubber bullets and sound grenades.

​Footage also shows police using water cannons to disperse protesters.

​​One of the videos circulating on social media allegedly shows the stun grenade exploding inside Al Aqsa Mosque during Friday worshipping. Another clip allegedly shows the Israeli police locking the doors of the mosque while the worshippers are still in the building.

​​​The Temple Mount altercations prompted swift reaction from many, with the US voicing its concern over the situation in Jerusalem and calling for deescalation, and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu condemning what he described as the "Israeli attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque".

​Amid the tensions heating up in Jerusalem, reports emerged in Israeli media claiming that several "Palestinian gunmen" headed to Jerusalem to carry out a terror attack. According to the Times of Israel, citing Israeli TV, three Palestinian assailants booked a tour that included Jerusalem and were on their way to the city at the time of a "shootout" in which two gunmen were killed and one was "critically injured".

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