More than 250 arrested | Israeli forces launch airstrikes on Palestinian targets after reported rocket fire in retaliation to Al-Aqsa raid
\n GHAZA
\nIsraeli police arrested more than 350 people early Wednesday after clashes at Jerusalem\u2019s flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque, a police spokesperson said.
\nIn a statement, police said they had \u201carrested and removed over 350 individuals that violently barricaded\u201d themselves inside the mosque in the Old City of annexed east Jerusalem.
\nThose arrested included \u201cmasked individuals, stone and firework hurlers\/throwers, and individuals suspected of desecrating the mosque,\u201d it said.
\nIsraeli police attacked dozens of worshippers in the mosque\u2019s compound before dawn in the wee hours of the day in what Israeli police said was a response to rioting.
\nThe incident sparked protests across the occupied West Bank and the Israeli military claimed nine rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel after sirens blared in southern towns.
\nViolence in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem has surged over the past year and there is concern that tensions could escalate this month, as the holy month of Ramazan coincides with Judaism\u2019s Passover and Christian Easter.
\nThe Palestinian Red Crescent said seven Palestinians sustained wounds from rubber-tipped bullets and beatings by the Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. It added that Israeli forces were preventing its medics from reaching the mosque.
\n\u201cI was sitting on a chair reciting [Holy Quran],\u201d an elderly woman told Reuters outside the mosque, struggling to catch her breath. \u201cThey hurled stun grenades, one of them hit my chest,\u201d she said as she began to cry.
\nIsraeli police said in a statement that it was forced to enter the compound after masked agitators locked themselves inside the mosque with fireworks, sticks and stones.
\n\u201cWhen the police entered, stones were thrown at them and fireworks were fired from inside the mosque by a large group of agitators,\u201d the statement said, adding that a police officer was wounded in the leg.
\nFriction at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, has set off violence in recent years.
\nPalestinian groups condemned Israel\u2019s attacks on worshippers, which they described as a crime.
\n\u201cWe warn the occupation against crossing red lines at holy sites, which will lead to a big explosion,\u201d said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
\nJordan and Egypt, both involved in recent US-backed efforts to de-escalate tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, issued separate statements condemning the incident.
\nVideos circulating on social media, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed fireworks going off and police beating people inside the mosque.
\nThe Israeli military said nine rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel, of which at least four were intercepted and four landed in open areas.
\nPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the brutal attack of the Israeli forces on the worshippers.
\nIn a tweet, the premier stated that the attack violated the sanctity of the holy month of Ramazan.
\n\u201cImpunity granted to Israel has emboldened Tel Aviv to violate basic human rights with abandon,\u201d he added.
\nForeign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the \u201cindiscriminate beating of worshippers and violation of sanctity of one of holiest sites of Islam is reprehensible and a grave affront to Muslims.\u201d
\nPTI chief Imran Khan also strongly condemned the Israel police\u2019s actions.
\nTaking to Twitter, the ex-premier said: \u201cIt is a responsibility of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to apprise the United Nations Security Council and the international community that such barbaric acts cause immense hurt to Muslims across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
More than 250 arrested | Israeli forces launch airstrikes on Palestinian targets after reported rocket fire in retaliation to Al-Aqsa raid GHAZA Israeli police arrested more than 350 people early Wednesday after clashes at Jerusalem\u2019s flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque, a police spokesperson said. In a statement, police said they had \u201carrested and removed over 350 individuals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323989,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-324101","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n