Over 280 Palestinians injured as Israeli police storm Al-Aqsa
Israeli police use plastic bullets and stun grenades in attack on Palestinian worshippers at Islam’s third-holiest site
Israeli police intervene in Muslim worshippers with stun grenades and plastic bullets in Haram al-Sharif area of Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, on May 7, 2021 in East Jerusalem. ( Mostafa Alkharouf - Anadolu Agency )
Quds
JERUSALEM
More than 280 people were injured Monday evening when Israeli police stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and attacked Palestinian worshippers soon after the Maghrib (sunset) prayer.
In a statement, the Palestinian Red Crescent said 281 people were injured in the attack.
The Israeli police used plastic bullets and stun grenades in the Haram al-Sharif, it said, adding 161 of the injured were taken to hospitals.
The number of injured in the attacks since early Monday rose to 612, with 411 of them treated at hospitals.
Some of the Israeli police withdrew from the Haram al-Sharif and all of the wounded were evacuated from Al-Aqsa Mosque, Firas al-Dibs, a spokesman for the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, said in a statement.
Also, the Israeli police attacked worshippers at the Haram al-Sharif, al-Dibs told Anadolu Agency.
The police intervened with plastic bullets and stun grenades in a dispute between young Palestinians and Israeli police in front of Al-Aqsa’s Al-Maghariba Gate, he said.
During the attack, a fire broke out and spread to a tree in the Haram al-Sharif, Dibs said, adding it was extinguished by the fire brigade.
The attack continued for a long time, he added.
Young Palestinians set up small barricades inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, located in the Old City of Jerusalem, and hung Palestinian flags.
