ISRAELI police scuffled with Palestinians for a second night yesterday in annexed east Jerusalem, amid mounting tensions over a ban on gatherings and anger fuelled by videos posted of attacks.

The fresh violence came after clashes overnight on Thursday, in which the Palestinian Red Crescent reported at least 105 wounded, of whom around 20 were transferred to hospital, while the Israeli police said 20 officers had been injured.

On Thursday, police had barred access to some areas where Palestinians usually gather in large numbers during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan – sparking confrontations outside one of the entrances to the walled Old City.

Tensions were fuelled by the arrival of far-right Jews at the end of a march during which they harassed Palestinians and chanted “death to Arabs”.

After calm during daylight hours yesterday, skirmishes broke out again as thousands of Muslim worshippers left the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound after evening prayers, when they found themselves confronted by dozens of armed police, including officers on horseback.

Clashes broke out between worshippers and police, with water bottles hurled at officers who fired stun grenades to disperse the crowd.

Hundreds of Palestinians also gathered yesterday at the Qalandiya crossing between Jerusalem and the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, police said.

In Bethlehem, also in the West Bank, Palestinians threw stones and petrol bombs towards the tomb of biblical matriarch Rachel, a shrine venerated by Jews and Muslims, they added.

There have been nightly disturbances in the area since the start of Ramadan on April 13, with Palestinians outraged over police blocking access to the promenade around the walls, a popular gathering place after the end of the daytime Ramadan fast.

Later on Friday, the Israeli army said at least ten rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards southern Israel into the early hours of the morning – the most in one night since the beginning of the year.

Some were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system and others were shot down, as sirens wailed in nearby villages.

In response, witnesses and Palestinian security sources told AFP, Israeli tanks bombarded the Gaza Strip.

The army said it struck a military post belonging to Hamas, the Islamist movement who rule the enclave.

Calls for calm

The United States, Israel’s ally, which under President Joe Biden has encouraged greater rights for Palestinians, said Friday it was “deeply concerned” by the escalation in violence in Jerusalem.

“The rhetoric of extremist protestors chanting hateful and violent slogans must be firmly rejected,” State Department spokesman Ned Price wrote on Twitter.

The European Union and United Nations also appealed for restraint.

Jordan condemned the “provocations” carried out by “extremist” Jewish groups, calling on Israel to prevent such incidents and lift restrictions on access to Al-Aqsa mosque.

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, voiced support to east Jerusalem Palestinians.

Tensions have been high in the flashpoint holy city after a series of videos posted online in recent days showing young Arabs attacking ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Jewish extremists taking to the street to bully Arabs in nightly confrontations. – AFP, April 24, 2021.