UPDATES WITH FRESH STATEMENTS
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli police have sent reinforcements to East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex amid ongoing clashes with Muslim worshipers, according to eyewitnesses.
“At least 50 additional policemen have entered the mosque compound within the last hour,” one eyewitness told Anadolu Agency.
“Meanwhile,” he added, “Israeli forces have sealed the gates of Al-Aqsa and prevented anyone from entering the mosque compound.”
A Palestinian official who works in the area told Anadolu Agency that “dozens” of Palestinians had been injured after Israeli forces entered the compound and began attacking worshipers.
In a statement, Firas al-Dibs, a spokesman for Jerusalem’s Jordan-run Religious Endowments Authority, said at least 60 soldiers had entered the holy site, “where they used teargas and stun grenades to disperse worshipers after Friday prayers”.
“Fifteen Palestinians have been injured, including three mosque guards,” he added.
According to al-Dibs, the Israeli authorities have sealed the compound’s Al-Qibali Mosque with iron chains and prevented Palestinian worshippers from entering the building.
For Muslims, the Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the “Temple Mount “, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state in a move never recognized by the international community.
In late 2000, a visit to the Al-Aqsa by controversial Israeli politician Ariel Sharon sparked a years-long popular uprising against the Israeli occupation in which thousands of Palestinians lost their lives.
