US MAKES APPEAL FOR CALM AFTER ISRAELI FORCES WOUND HUNDREDS IN AL-AQSA RAID

Sat 16 April 2022:

The United States said on Friday that it was “deeply concerned” after violence in Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound. The clashes at the mosque compound took place on the heels of three weeks of deadly violence in Israel and West Bank. Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli police clashed at Al-Aqsa mosque on April 15. More than 150 people were wounded in the clashes.

“We call on all sides to exercise restraint (and) avoid provocative actions and rhetoric,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

“We urge Palestinian and Israeli officials to work cooperatively to lower tensions and ensure the safety of everyone.”

In the violence that erupted on April 15, most of the Palestinian injuries were due to rubber bullets, stun grenades and due to police baton.

THOUSANDS OF MUSLIM WORSHIPPERS ATTEND FRIDAY PRAYERS AT AL-AQSA MOSQUE

Neighbouring Jordan, which has custodianship over the holy site, and the Palestinian Authority issued a joint statement accusing Israel of “a dangerous and condemnable escalation that threatens to explode the situation”. Egypt also condemned the “Israeli raid”.

Hundreds of people gathered outside Al-Kalouti mosque, near the Israeli embassy in Jordan, to show their solidarity with Palestinians and in support of Al-Aqsa Mosque. The demonstrators chanted pro-Palestine and Hamas slogans.

Angry responses

Responding to the developments, the Palestinian presidency said in a statement the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Israeli police was “a dangerous development” and “a declaration of war”.

It added the Palestinian people would not allow Israeli occupation forces and Jewish settlers to take over the holy site, and called on the international community to “end Israeli aggression”.

MORE THAN 150 PALESTINIANS INJURED AS ISRAELI POLICE RAID AL-AQSA MOSQUE

Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of Hamas that governs the Strip, said the Palestinian people would defend and protect Al-Aqsa Mosque at all costs. He added there was no place for “intruders” in Jerusalem.

Hamas also called on the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Israel to unite in support of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Ofir Gendelman, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, said Israel would not allow those he described as “rioters” to hinder prayer in Jerusalem and disrupt public order.

CHRISTIAN LEADER IN JERUSALEM: WE’LL DIE IN DEFENCE OF AL-AQSA MOSQUE

Gendelman accused “Palestinian thugs” of throwing stones without pretext with the aim of inflaming the situation in Al-Aqsa Mosque. He said Israeli police were forced to enter the compound to disperse the crowds and calm the situation.

Al-Aqsa is third holiest site in Islam. The mosque is called Temple Mount by the Jews. This is a reference to two temples said to have stood there in antiquity.

Israel captured East Jerusalem, including the Old City, in the 1967 war and annexed it in a move not recognised internationally. Palestinians want the eastern part of the city to be the capital of a future state including the West Bank and Gaza, which Israel also captured during the war.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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