Israeli forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque and viciously assaulted dozens of Palestinian worshippers in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday night.
The raid at Al-Aqsa started around 10 pm local time when heavily armed police officers were first spotted entering the site before firing tear gas and stun grenades into the Qibli prayer hall – the building with the silver dome – where hundreds of men, women, elderly people and children were staying overnight to pray.
The worshippers were forcibly removed from the site where they were peacefully observing the holy month of Ramadan.
#BREAKING: Israeli armed forces beat Palestinian worshippers in the Al-Qibli Prayer Hall in the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday night pic.twitter.com/vjjkhJtXeE
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) April 4, 2023
Videos from inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque showed Israeli officers repeatedly hitting people with batons while they appeared to lie on the floor.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it received multiple reports of injuries at Al-Aqsa Mosque but has not been able to estimate the number of casualties as Israeli forces continue to block medics from reaching the wounded.
Following the incident, hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets to condemn the assault and confront Israeli troops at checkpoints and army posts. Rallies also took place in Gaza, Umm al-Fahm (a Palestinian town in Israel) and the Jordanian capital Amman.
Settler incursions
Israeli authorities have been removing worshippers from Al-Aqsa Mosque every night since the start of Ramadan after the Taraweeh prayer ends around 9 pm local time, albeit without this widespread use of violence.
Read more: UN Security Council members stress Al-Aqsa mosque status quo
They have also been restricting who can enter the site and when, in what Palestinians say is an infringement on their freedom of religious practice.
Itikaf at Al-Aqsa Mosque is not allowed by Israeli authorities outside of the last ten days of Ramadan, a ban that Palestinians refuse to comply with.
Israeli forces regularly empty the mosque of Palestinians outside the five Muslim prayers, especially overnight and after dawn prayer to ensure a smooth incursion of Israeli settlers which takes place daily around 7:30 am local time.
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