The United Nations Security Council will meet on Tuesday behind closed doors to discuss escalating tensions over Israeli-Palestinian violence in Jerusalem, diplomatic sources said Monday. France, Ireland, China, Norway and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were the countries that requested the meeting.
A new wave of violence left more than 20 injured on Sunday around the Esplanade of Mosques in Jerusalem, two days after they were recorded 150 injured in other clashes.
According to Israeli police, early on Sunday, “hundreds” of Palestinian protesters had begun to accumulate “stones” on the esplanade shortly before the arrival of religious Jews on the site, considered the holiest for Judaism and the third for Muslims.
It was then that Israeli law enforcement agencies intervened on the esplanade, located in the Old City of East Jerusalem, to “evict” these protesters and “restore order,” the police said. Witnesses and first responders indicate that a dozen Palestinians were injured in these riots.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 19 Palestinians were injured, some by rubber bullets. In addition, one hospital reported seven others injured by throwing stones on the outskirts of the Old City.
Since Israel's seizure and subsequent annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967, something not recognized by the international community, Jews have been able to access the esplanade at certain times, but not pray there.
Prayer is usually performed on the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall, although for years religious Jews have been praying in secret on the esplanade.
The latest incidents occurred when the Christian Easter Mass was celebrated on Sunday, the prayers for Passover, the Jewish Passover, and for the Muslim month of Ramadan in the Old City of Jerusalem, a sometimes conflicting confluence of the three monotheistic religions.
Jordan, which manages the mosque compound, blamed Israel on Sunday for the new escalation of violence, and King Abdullah II called on the Jewish State to “end illegal and provocative measures that lead to further escalation.”
On Monday there were new clashes between Palestinian Muslims and the Israeli Police who have intervened to clear the Esplanade of Mosques for the visit of the Jewish faithful. This is the third time in a week that there have been riots.
Palestinians have tried to prevent Jews from visiting, but the Israeli Police used rubber bullets to force them to take refuge in the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque. Several windows of the temple were broken.
“The numerous arrests over the past few days show that the Israel Police are not afraid to act decisively and forcefully against anyone who tries to put security at risk and incite violence,” said Israeli Police Chief Yaakov Shabtai.
This year the tension has multiplied because the Muslim holy month of Ramadan coincides with Passover and Christian Holy Week and their acts in the city of Jerusalem.
Non-Muslims have reserved times to visit the Esplanade of Mosques and are also prohibited from praying in the place, according to Israeli regulations. Muslims want to use the place day and night to coincide with Ramadan, while the most radical Jews have made calls to occupy the place during Passover.
The Palestinian Authority recalled recent resolutions, such as that of UNESCO, which ratify that “the mosque is a mosque for Muslims”.
In this context of growing tension, a rocket was fired at Israel on Monday from the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip, and was shot down by Israeli defense systems, the Israeli army said.
“Sirens resounded in the area around the Gaza Strip. A rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory. The rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system,” the army explained in a statement. No casualties were reported.
Hamas, the terrorist group that rules in the Gaza Strip, warned on Sunday that the Al Aqsa mosque, located on the Esplanade of Mosques, “is ours and ours alone” and promised to defend the right of Palestinians to pray there.
(With information from AFP and Europa Press)
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