On Friday, Israeli forces attacked Muslim worshippers who were trying to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem for dawn prayers. Video footage shows Israeli police at the mosque’s gates chasing and beating young men who attempted to enter the compound. Eyewitnesses reported that police officers also assaulted stall owners and street vendors near the Bab Hutta gate. Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinian men protested Israel’s assault on worshippers in other parts of the compound by chanting anti-occupation slogans. Israeli forces have stormed the Al-Aqsa compound multiple times since Ramadan began two weeks ago, using stun grenades, rubber bullets, and batons to expel mostly Palestinian worshippers. As a result, hundreds of Palestinians have been arrested and injured.
The situation escalated on Thursday when Israel fired rockets at both Lebanon and the besieged Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire from both territories. Israel’s strikes caused significant damage to the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, according to the official Palestinian Wafa news agency. Lebanese militant group Hezbollah denied involvement in the rocket fire from Lebanon, while an unnamed source in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) claimed that the rockets from southern Lebanon were fired by Palestinian factions in retaliation for the Israeli raid on Al-Aqsa. Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, stated that it holds Israel responsible for the aggression on the besieged enclave.
The Israeli forces have been attempting to prevent Palestinians from spending nights at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in a religious practice known as i’tikaf. Muslims spend longer periods of time inside mosques during this practice in order to devote themselves to worship. The recent Israeli aggression has drawn international condemnation, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressing shock and dismay at Israel’s ill-treatment of Palestinians. The situation in Jerusalem remains tense, and there are fears that the Israeli aggression could further escalate.