CAIRO: The Israeli police broke down the historical gates of the Qibli mosque, one of the buildings in the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, after they raided the complex from the Mughrabi Gate Tuesday, Wafa news agency reported.
Part of the historical carpets and windows of the Qibli Mosque were burned and broken due to the raid, which targeted praying Palestinians with rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades, according to the Palestinian agency.
Sky News Arabia reported that 26 Palestinians were injured at the mosque Tuesday, while Israeli Police spokesperson Luba Samir was quoted by Haaretz as saying that two Palestinians were arrested and five officers were lightly injured.
The clashes have been ongoing since Sunday, when Israeli forces raided the plaza of Al-Aqsa Mosque to stop alleged attempts by Palestinians to block the Mughrabi Gate, the only entrance for non-Muslims.
Sunday marked the eve of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, which is often accompanied by threats to storm Al-Aqsa by radical Jews.
During the clashes, Palestinians in the complex hurled rocks and flares at the police, according to Reuters. Palestinians fear that the Israeli police would allow Jews to pray inside the place outside Al-Aqsa due to pressure by hard-liners. Jewish prayers outside Al-Aqsa have been banned since Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967.
Israeli border police officers detain a Palestinian protester in Jerusalem’s Old City, September 15, 2015. The U.S. State Department on Monday voiced concern about violence at the compound surrounding Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque, an area revered by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and by Jews as the Temple Mount. REUTERS/Baz Ratner
A total of 32 windows of Al-Aqsa were partially or completely shattered and the carpet burned in 12 spots in the Sunday raid, Reuters quoted the mosque’s official Radwan Amr.
Several Muslim states, notably Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have denounced the Israeli raid.