AP.
Jerusalem: While the dawn prayers were going on in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, where devotees were gathered and in Ramadan prayers, Israeli troops forced in and sparked clashes wounding at least 152 Palestinians, Associated Press reported.
Video clips have surfaced showing Palestinians stone-pelting while police were firing them with stun grenades and tear gas. Worshippers were seen barricading themselves inside the mosque.
The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service informed that it had hospitalized seven people who were injured by rubber-coated bullets or stun grenades or were beaten.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces claimed that they entered the area to remove rocks and stones which were gathered in an attempt to prevent an impending conflict. Police claimed that they had waited for the prayers to stop and the crowds to leave. But the crowd started pelting rocks in the direction of the Western Wall, which is a Jewish holy site, and they decided to act. Police added that they did not enter the mosque.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry alleged that many masked men were sighted at the mosque carrying Palestinian and Hamas flags. They marched inside the compound on early Friday and were seen gathering stones.
The Old City is sacred for the three Abrahamic religions of Islam, Jew and Christianity. The place was an epicentre of the Israel-Palestine conflict for a long time. The recent wave of tensions has heightened through the holy month of Ramadan. There are holidays in line for the three faiths of Islam, Judaism and Christianity, such as Ramadan, the Passover (a week-long holiday) and Easter on Sunday, respectively. This means thousands of devotees will flock to the Old City of Jerusalem from all three religions.