On Thursday, thousands of Muslim worshippers entered the compound for the first time in almost two weeks, where they clashed with Israeli security forces after boycotting the site due to Israeli restrictions.
Photos by Faiz Abu Rmeleh, Martin Barzilai, Yotam Ronen, Heidi Motola, Oren Ziv / Activestills.org
Thousands of Palestinians gather at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, July 27, 2017. (Activestills.org)
Protests and clashes in Jerusalem’s Old City over tensions at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif calmed on Friday, after a week of violence claimed the lives of six Palestinians and three Israelis in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza.
Police announced for the second straight week that men under 50 would not be allowed in, closing several gates to the compound. Meanwhile a 25-year-old Palestinian who was shot by Israeli forces in Ramallah earlier this week succumbed to his wounds. Israeli soldiers also reportedly shot and killed a protester near the border with Gaza.
Israeli authorities removed controversial metal detectors at the entrance to Al-Aqsa compound earlier this week, following intervention by Jordan. On Thursday, thousands of Muslim worshippers entered the compound for the first time in almost two weeks, where they clashed with Israeli security forces, after boycotting the site. Some 115 Palestinians were treated for wounds both inside the compound and in the surrounding area, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Israel installed metal detectors and at the mosque, the third holiest site for Muslims, after an attack by three Palestinian citizens of Israel on July 14, in which they fatally shot two Israeli Border Police officers.
Palestinians viewed the restrictive measures as an encroachment of Israeli control over the holy site and a form of collective punishment.
Border Police officers guard the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound, July 27, 2017. (Activestills.org)
Palestinians run away as Border Police throw stun grenades outside Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, July 27, 2017. (Activestills.org)
Hundreds of Palestinians pray in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras al-Amud, outside the Old City, July 28, 2017. (Activestills.org)
Palestinians celebrate the return to Al-Aqsa Mosque, Old City of Jerusalem, July 27, 2017 (Activestills.org)
A Palestinian worshipper prays in Ras al-Amoud, East Jerusalem, July 28, 2017. (Activestills.org)
Border Police officers throw stun grenades at Palestinians at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound, Jerusalem, July 27, 2017. (Activestills.org)
Palestinians fly the Palestinian flag Islamic flags atop Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, July 27, 2017. (Activestills.org)
Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war – the atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel and the massive retaliatory Israeli attacks on Gaza. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing violence.
We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed unleashed by these events has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Hamas’ murderous assault in southern Israel has devastated and shocked the country to its core. Israel’s retaliatory bombing of Gaza is wreaking destruction on the already besieged strip and killing a ballooning number of civilians. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to escalate their attacks on Palestinians.
This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 13 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, the entrenched occupation, and an increasingly normalized siege on Gaza.
We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives.
Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is the leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists and activists can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.