Clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. According to reports from the Red Crescent cited by the media, the toll is at least 90 injured, of which 40 were taken to hospital and at least two in serious condition. According to Palestinian sources, there are also dozens of people arrested. Three Israeli agents were also injured in the violent clashes.
Islamic faithful, who are celebrating the second Friday of Ramadan today, organized a procession in the Esplanade, waving Hamas flags and attacking the Israeli security forces with stones and fireworks at eye level. A few dozen people then barricaded themselves in the al-Aqsa Mosque.
According to the police, the intervention of the agents was necessary to prevent stones from falling into the plain of the Western Wall below.
Thousands of agents have been deployed to Jerusalem to maintain control of the situation, as Passover is also being celebrated tonight and tension between Israel and Palestinians is at the highest level. After the 4 Palestinian terrorist attacks which in about two weeks left 14 victims, the Israeli army has launched a series of operations in the West Bank, in particular in Jenin in the northern Territories, to hit bases and seize the large number of illegal weapons in circulation, as explained by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
The reaction of the Palestinians was not long in coming: violent demonstrations with clashes and shootings were recorded throughout the West Bank. Yesterday morning, just near Jenin, 2 Palestinian demonstrators were killed: among them a child under 14 who - the army explained - would have thrown Molotov cocktails at the soldiers. The tally of the last 36 hours reports a total of 6 Palestinian demonstrators killed, mostly supporters of Fatah, the party of President Abu Mazen.
(Unioneonline / D)
