Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, April 29: Following weeks of violence at the flashpoint site, Palestinians and Israeli police clashed again on Friday at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound, injuring 42 persons, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The violence occurred on the last Friday of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. According to the Red Crescent, none of the injuries were serious, and 22 individuals were sent to the hospital.
Israel’s police reported ‘rioters’ threw stones and pyrotechnics at the compound, especially down towards the Western Wall, a revered Jewish landmark below Al-Aqsa.
Officers employed ‘riot dispersal methods’ to quell the unrest, according to the statement. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets, according to witnesses and AFP reporters. Three persons were arrested, two for throwing stones and one for ‘inciting the mob,’ according to police.
“For the past hour, the site has been quiet and (Muslim) worshippers are safely entering (the compound)” police said.
However, emotions remain high at the site, which is part of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and is located in the heart of Jerusalem’s historic, walled city.
Nearly 300 Palestinians have been hurt in clashes at the Al-Aqsa compound, Islam’s third holiest site and the holiest place for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount, in the last two weeks.