More than 900 Palestinians wounded in al-Aqsa clashes

Hundreds of Palestinians have been wounded in confrontations with Israeli forces - many by rubber-coated bullets - since violence erupted over al-Aqsa restrictions on July 14.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

24 July, 2017

Hundreds of Palestinians have been wounded in confrontations with Israeli forces [Getty]

More than 900 Palestinians have been injured in confrontations with Israeli forces over the last ten days, the Palestinian Red Crescent has said, with many of injuries caused by rubber-coated metal bullets.

Palestinian hospitals are facing a large influx of patients as clashes, sparked by new security measures at the highly sensitive al-Aqsa mosque compound, continue.

More than two dozen Palestinians were wounded in fresh clashes on Sunday night; 21 people were injured at Bab Al-Asbat (Lion's Gate), outside al-Aqsa, 15 of them shot with rubber-coated bullets, reported the Palestinian Red Crescent.

There were also clashes at the Qalandiya checkpoint, located between Jerusalem and Ramallah, where ten people were injured.

Three people were shot by rubber bullets, six suffered from tear gas inhalation, and one person from a fall, the Red Crescent said.

International human rights groups have long condemned Israel's use of such bullets.

Palestinian Red Crescent also said it treated 15 people who were injured by tear gas inhalation in Abu Dis.

Violence erupted on July 14 after Israeli authorities installed metal detectors at the entrance to al-Aqsa mosque - the third holiest site in Islam.

Israel unilaterally imposed the new security measures after a gun and knife attack killed two Israeli policemen on 14 July, a move seen as challenging the delicate status quo of the holy site.

Palestinians in Jerusalem mobilised en-masse against the metal detectors, boycotting entry to the al-Aqsa mosque and praying instead in surrounding city streets.

The recent violence, which has seen five Palestinians killed and three Israeli settlers stabbed to death, has also triggered international alarm and condemnation.

The UN Security Council is expected to hold a closed-door meeting on Monday, while the Arab League said Israel was "playing with fire".