JERUSALEM – Israeli police have used force to disperse Palestinian worshippers near the Lion’s Gate in Jerusalem. In a video shot by RT Arabic, crowds of worshippers can be seen trying to flee, as clouds of smoke fill the air and Israeli police move in.
https://youtu.be/YXlV75z9idE
Nammari says she received a blow to her back from an Israeli soldier.
Saturday’s protest started as hundreds of Palestinians held their evening prayers outside the al-Aqsa Mosque, refusing to be subjected to the new Israeli security measures there.
The decision to install metal detectors came after two border police officers were killed in an attack at the site last Friday. The Israelis claim the extra security measures are necessary to help prevent terrorism, but the protesters accuse the government of using the terror threat as a pretext to assert Tel Aviv’s authority over the mosque, the third most sacred site in Islam.
Palestinians, have for the last week, been praying outside near the site in protest.
Protests and clashes also erupted in other parts of the city including the A-Tur, Issawiya, and Shu’afat neighborhoods. In the al-Azariya district, a 17-year-old protester named as Oday Nawajaa reportedly died from a gunshot wound.
Three Palestinians were shot dead during protests in Jerusalem on Friday, while the Palestinian Authority has frozen all contact with the Israeli government over the dispute. The same day three members of a Jewish family were murdered in a stabbing attack at a settlement on the West Bank.
