JERUSALEM: A night of heavy clashes between Palestin­ians and Israeli police at the Al Aqsa mosque compound and elsewhere in Jerusalem left more than 200 Palestinians wounded, medics said on Saturday, as the city braced for even more violence after weeks of unrest.

Nightly protests broke out at the start of Ramazan over police restrictions at a popular gathering place and have reignited in recent days over threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinians from their homes in east Jerusalem, which is claimed by both sides in the decades-old conflict.

It was unclear what set off the violence at Al Aqsa, which erupted when Israeli police in riot gear were deployed in large numbers as thousands of Muslim worshippers were holding evening prayers at the sprawling hilltop esplanade.

Throughout the night large groups of protesters could be seen hurling rocks as Israeli police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades. At one point, the police entered one of the buildings in the complex, which includes the Al Aqsa mosque and the iconic golden Dome of the Rock.

Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain condemn Israeli actions; US and EU urge calm

The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said 88 of the wounded were hospitalised. The Palestinian Health Ministry said 83 people were wounded by rubber-coated bullets, including three who were shot in the eye, two with serious head injuries and two with broken jaws.

The Israeli police said protesters hurled stones, fireworks and other objects at them, wounding 17 officers, half of whom were hospitalised. “We will respond with a heavy hand to all violent disturbances, riots and attacks on our forces,” it said in a statement late on Friday.

The Al Aqsa mosque compound is the third holiest site in Islam. It is also the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the location of the biblical temples. It has long been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and was the epicentre of the 2000 Palestinian intifada, or uprising.

Some 70,000 worshippers had attended the final midday Friday prayers of Ramazan at Al Aqsa, the Islamic endowment that oversees the site said. Thousands protested afterwards, waving the green flags of the Islamic militant group Hamas and chanting pro-Hamas slogans.

At the beginning of Ramazan in mid-April, Israel blocked off a popular gathering spot where Palestinians traditionally socialise at the end of their daylong fast. The move set off two weeks of clashes before Israel lifted the restrictions.

But in recent days, protests have grown over Israel’s threatened eviction in Sheikh Jarrah in east Jerusalem of dozens of Palestinians embroiled in a long legal battle with Israeli settlers trying to acquire property in the neighbourhood.

The United States said it was deeply concerned about both the violence and the threatened evictions, and was in contact with leaders on both sides to try and de-escalate tensions.

“It is critical to avoid steps that exacerbate tensions or take us farther away from peace,” the US State Department said in a statement. “This includes evictions in East Jerusalem, settlement activity, home demolitions, and acts of terrorism.”

The European Union also urged calm. It said the “potential evictions were of serious concern,” adding that such actions are “illegal under international humanitarian law and only serve to fuel tensions on the ground”.

Egypt and Jordan, which made peace with Israel decades ago, condemned its actions, as did the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain, which was one of four Arab countries that signed US-brokered normalisation agreements with Israel last year.

Israelis and Palestinians are bracing for more unrest in the coming days.

Saturday night was Laylat al-Qadr and worshippers were gathering for intense nighttime prayers at Al Aqsa mosque.

Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai said he had ordered up reinforcements ahead of Laylat al-Qadr, saying “the right to demonstrate will be respected but public disturbances will be met with force and zero tolerance. I call on everyone to act responsibly and with restraint.”

Police could be seen stopping more than a dozen buses that appeared to be filled with Arab citizens on a highway leading to Jerusalem. Footage circulating online showed the passengers disembarking, protesting and blocking traffic going the other way.

Sunday night is the start of Jerusalem Day, a national holiday in which Israel celebrates its annexation of east Jerusalem and religious nationalists hold parades and other celebrations in the city. On Monday, an Israeli court is expected to issue a verdict on the evictions.

Israel captured east Jerusalem along with the West Bank and Gaza territories, which the Palestinians want for their future state, in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognised internationally and views the entire city as its capital.

The Palestinians view east Jerusalem, which includes major holy sites for Jews, Christians and Muslims, as their capital, and its fate is one of the most sensitive issues in the conflict.

In a call to Palestine TV late on Friday, President Mahmoud Abbas praised the courageous stand of the protesters and said Israel bore full responsibility for the violence.

Israel’s foreign ministry had earlier accused the Palestinians of seizing on the threatened evictions, which it described as a real-estate dispute between private parties, in order to incite violence.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2021