Clashes broke out between Palestinians and Israeli police at the Temple Mount early Friday morning, as spiking tensions, threats of terror and the observance of major holidays all converge around the flashpoint holy site.
Skirmishes between police and worshipers at the site were reported around 6:30 a.m., with officers entering the compound and clashing with people barricaded inside.
Police said in a statement that at around 4 a.m., dozens of young people began marching in the area. Some bore the Palestinian flag, while others carried green banners associated with the Hamas terror group.
The marchers threw stones and set off fireworks, while stockpiling rocks and other objects to prepare for further clashes, according to police.
Police said they waited for morning prayers to end before entering the Temple Mount to disperse the rioters, and that some of them threw stones at the Western Wall below.
The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency group reported 158 people were hurt in the clashes. It said the vast majority were treated at East Jerusalem’s al-Makassed Hospital or at a field hospital set up by medics, without giving details on the nature of the injuries
Israel’s Foreign Ministry released a statement clarifying officers did not enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism.
“Masked men hurl stones and set off fireworks, desecrating Al-Aqsa Mosque,” it said. “Contrary to FAKE reports, police forces DID NOT enter the mosque.”
The Hamas terror group said in a statement that Israel would bear the consequences of its “brutal assaults.”
“Our people in Jerusalem are not alone in the battle for Al-Aqsa. The whole Palestinian people and its noble resistance and its vital power are with them,” said Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhum.
Gaza terror groups earlier this week repeated that Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque were red lines for them.
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