Clashes erupted between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police outside the Old City of Jerusalem on Saturday, as tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers prayed at the nearby Al-Aqsa Mosque on Islam’s holy night of Laylat al-Qadr.
Palestinian youth threw stones, lit fires and tore down police barricades in the streets leading to the walled Old City gates as Israeli security forces on horseback and in riot gear deployed stun grenades and water cannon.
At least 64 people were injured, the Palestine Red Crescent said. Israeli police said at least one officer was hurt.
The clashes came the day after Israeli forces stormed Al-Aqsa and injured more than 200 Palestinians.
Tensions have mounted in the city, the occupied West Bank and Gaza throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, amid growing anger about the potential eviction of Palestinians from East Jerusalem homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers.
Israeli border guards have, during the past few days, used skunk water, tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and shock grenades to disperse sit-ins held in support of the families facing eviction in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.
At least 205 Palestinians and 18 Israeli officers were injured in Friday’s confrontations, which drew international condemnations and calls for calm.
Al Jazeera
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