Palestinian casualties rise as Israel forcing continues defying global cry

Jerusalem: Seventy more Palestinians were injured in the continuing atrocities by Israel forces on people gathered at Al-Aqsa Mosque for prayer on Monday, counting the injured over 250, according to reports.

Israel forces continued spraying bullets, hurling tear gas, sound bombs and charging canes at Palestinian worshippers for the third day on the 28th day of Ramadan.

The report also quoted the Palestinian Red Crescent saying that its medical teams were prevented from accessing the scene of the violence.

The forcing at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and its go-ahead stand to evict Palestinian from Sheik Jarrah to establish a Jewish settlement have invited an international cry for Israeli to stop attacking worshippers and abandon the settlement plan complying with the international law.

Earlier, The United States had again expressed its serious concerns about the situation in Jerusalem. Washington made its concerns during a phone call between National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and his Israeli counterpart.

Israeli security forces entered through the Mughrabi Gate, says the report where thousands of Jewish settlers were waiting outside ahead of "Jerusalem Day" marches, marking Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967.

Meanwhile, according to an Al Jazeera report, Israeli police barred Jewish settlers from accessing the Al Aqsa Mosque compound which Israelis mark as Jerusalem Day,

The decision came hours before a planned march by hardline Israeli nationalists through the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, an annual event widely perceived as a provocative display of Jewish hegemony over the occupied city.

Police allowed Palestinian's flag-waving parade to take place despite growing concerns that it could further fan the flames.

Tensions have escalated in Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank, and the Gaza Strip throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, amid growing anger about potential forced expulsions of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah – Palestinian land claimed by illegal Jewish settlers.

There were calls to cancel or to change the route of the parade in the wake of escalating clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians in the Old City during the past weeks.

The clashes triggered international condemnations and calls from Arab states, the US, Europe and the UN for Israel to stop the violence.

The UN Security Council has scheduled closed consultations Monday on the soaring tensions in Jerusalem. Diplomats said the meeting was requested by Tunisia, the Arab representative on the council.

Sullivan urged Israel to pursue appropriate measures to ensure calm during Jerusalem Day commemorations," according to a statement by National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne.

Jordan and Egypt, the first two countries to strike peace deals with Israel, both summoned senior Israeli diplomats to condemn the Israeli actions.

Jordan's King Abdullah II, who acts as custodian of Jerusalem's Muslim holy sites, condemned what he called Israeli violations and escalating practices and urged Israel to halt its provocations against Jerusalemites.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis said he was following the events in Jerusalem with worry and called for an end to the clashes.

Violence only generates violence, he told the public gathered at St. Peter's Square

Meanwhile, during Sunday's cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will "continue to keep freedom of worship" but "will not allow violent disturbances".

As a response to the incidents Saleh Arouri, a top Hamas official, told the militant group's Al-Aqsa TV station that "The occupier plays with fire, and tampering with Jerusalem is very dangerous"

The clashes were sparked by the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem and the restrictions imposed by Israel during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan

The site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, is considered the holiest site in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam. The compound is the epicentre of the conflict and has been the trigger for rounds of Israel-Palestinian violence in the past.

Israel captured east Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in the 1967 war. The Palestinians seek all three areas for a future state, with East Jerusalem as their capital.