New Delhi
The Israeli police clashed with Palestinians at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque a second time on Wednesday (April 5) as the confrontations triggered a cross-border exchange of fire in Gaza and stoked fears of further violence. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, six people were injured, the news agency Reuters reported. The staff of the Waqf, the Jordanian-appointed Islamic organisation managing the complex, said that in the second instance, the police entered the mosque compound late at night and tried to evacuate worshippers, using stun grenades and firing rubber bullets.
Witnesses, meanwhile, said that worshippers threw objects at the police. Issuing a statement, the police said that dozens of youngsters brought rocks and firecrackers into the mosque and had tried to barricade themselves inside. But Waqf said the police entered the mosque before prayers were over.
“Israel’s raid into Al-Aqsa mosque, its assault on worshippers, is a slap to recent US efforts which tried to create calm and stability during the month of Ramadan,” a spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli police entered the mosque compound to dislodge agitators. The police said it was forced to enter the compound after agitators locked themselves inside the mosque with fireworks, sticks, and stones. Twelve people were injured in this clash, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent while two Israeli police officers were hurt.
Following the first clash, Palestinian militants fired at least nine rockets from Gaza into Israel, drawing air strikes that Jerusalem said targeted weapon production sites for Hamas. No casualties were reported on either side of the Gaza border, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
And just before the second clash, two more rockets were fired from Gaza. Of these, one fell short and the other in an open space, the Israeli military said.
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