Yumna Moosa – yumna@radioislam.co.za

 05 April 2023 | 2 minute read | 8.30 CAT

Jerusalem – The Israeli police force has attacked worshippers at Al-Aqsa mosque on Tuesday night, after claiming to be responding to a “riot”. The attack has left more than a dozen Palestinians injured, according to witnesses, however the Palestinian Red Cross says they could not report on injuries as Israeli forces prevented them from accessing Al-Aqsa. One medic was attacked by an Israeli police officer and wounded outside the mosque gate.

Dozens of heavily armed officers stormed the site using stunt grenades while firing tear gas into the mosque – where hundreds of men, women and children were staying overnight to pray. Israeli police maintain that they were forced to invade the compound after “agitators” with fireworks were barricaded. The officers beat worshippers with batons and riot guns, wounding many before arresting them. The Palestinian Commission of Detainees’  Affairs estimates between 400-500 men have been arrested by Israel so far.

In the occupied West Bank, hundreds of Palestinians protested against the assault. Rallies took pace in Gaza, Umm al-Fahm, and the Jordanian capital Amman.  The Israeli army said five rockets were intercepted by the aerial defence system around the city of Sderot, and that four others had fallen in uninhabited areas.

Egypt has called for an immediate halt to Israel’s “blatant assault on worshippers”, while Jordan’s foreign ministry condemned the Al-Aqsa attack.