Al Aqsa Mosque: more than 150 wounded as Israeli police use stun grenades on worshippers

The violence is reminiscent of the escalation a year ago that preceded an 11-day war between Israel and Gaza militants

A child runs away from a confrontation between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces, at Beita village in the occupied West Bank. AFP

Palestinian demonstrators at Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. AFP

A Palestinian protester uses a sling during a confrontation with Israeli security forces during a demonstration against Jewish settlements, at Beita, in the occupied West Bank. AFP

Supporters of the Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements rally after Friday prayers in Gaza City, following clashes at Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. AFP

Palestinians gather around the Dome of the Rock shrine at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, after Friday prayers. AFP

Palestinian men wearing national flags kneel to pray near the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al Aqsa Mosque compound. AFP

Israeli Border Police secure the perimeter of the closed Israeli army Qalandia checkpoint, used by Palestinians to cross from the West Bank into Jerusalem, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. AP Photo

A Palestinian man removes a police sign from a wall at Al Aqsa Mosque compound after Israeli security forces used force against worshippers gathered for Ramadan prayers. Reuters

Palestinians return from Al Aqsa Mosque after Friday prayers. AFP

Supporters of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups rally after Friday prayers in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, to express support for those at Al Aqsa Mosque. AFP

Worshippers during Friday prayers at Al Aqsa Mosque compound. AFP

Hamas and Islamic Jihad supporters at a rally on Friday in Khan Yunis. AFP

Palestinian protesters in Khan Yunis. AFP

Palestinian girls in front of the Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem's Old City. AFP

Israeli police officers keep watch after clashes with Muslim worshippers in Jerusalem. The overlapping religious occasions – Ramadan for Muslims, Passover for Jews and Easter for Christians – have increased tensions near contested sacred sites in Jerusalem. Getty Images

Worshippers during Friday prayers at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque complex. AFP

Palestinian protesters after Friday prayers in Jerusalem. AFP

Worshippers gather for Friday prayers at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque compound. AFP

An Israeli police officer stops a Muslim woman on her way to Friday prayer in Jerusalem. Getty Images

Palestinians clean Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque after Israeli security forces entered. Reuters

Palestinians clean the entrance to the mosque. Debris and broken glass cover the floor. Reuters

Palestinian youths who took part in a protest at the mosque are arrested by Israeli security forces. AFP

A member of the Israeli security forces lifts his baton in front of the Dome of the Rock mosque. Witnesses said Palestinian protesters threw stones at Israeli forces, who fired rubber bullets. AFP

Israeli security forces detain Palestinian youths after a violent confrontation at the mosque. AFP

Israeli security forces detain Palestinian protesters following the violence. Reuters

Israeli security forces take their positions during clashes with Palestinian protesters. Reuters

Palestinians are kept at bay by Israeli police during clashes. AFP

Israel said its forces entered to remove rocks and stones that had been gathered in anticipation of violence. Reuters

Masked Palestinians take position. The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said 59 wounded people were admitted to hospital. AP Photo

Israeli police fire tear gas towards Palestinian demonstrators. AFP

Israeli security forces deploy in front of the Lion's gate. AFP

Palestinians are kept at bay by Israeli police. AFP

Israeli security forces advance against worshippers and protesters Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque compound. Witnesses said that Palestinian protesters threw stones at Israeli security forces, who fired rubber bullets at some of the demonstrators. AFP

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said dozens of masked men carrying Palestinian and Hamas flags had marched to the compound early on Friday and gathered stones. AFP

Palestinian demonstrators throw rocks at Israeli police at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque compound. AFP

Videos circulating online showed clouds of tear gas at the mosque. AFP

Palestinians use boards to protect themselves from Israeli police, who also used rubber bullets and stun grenades. AP

Worshippers set up barricades outside the mosque during the violence. AP

Israeli police entered the compound before dawn as thousands of worshippers gathered for early morning prayers during Ramadan. AP

A man is carried on a stretcher after being wounded during the violence. AFP

The mosque is part of Haram Al Sharif, the third holiest site in Islam. It is built on a hilltop that is the most sacred site for Jews. AFP

The mosque has been a major flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian violence for decades.. AFP

One of the guards at the site was reportedly shot in the eye with a rubber bullet. AFP

More than 150 Palestinians were wounded on Friday in violence involving Israeli security forces at Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque compound, medics said, following the killing of several people in Israel and the occupied West Bank in recent weeks.

The violence at the third holiest site in Islam, which is also revered in Judaism, comes during Ramadan and before the Jewish holiday of Passover.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said 153 people at Al Asqsa Mosque were injured by rubber bullets, stun grenades and assault. Tear gas was also used by security forces.

“There are attacks against our staff … on medical personnel and ambulances. There’s denied access to reach victims,” a spokesperson for the medical organisation told The National.

Israeli police denied the medic's account and said “the only ones injured are police officers hurt by aggressive rock-throwing at them”.

The force said hundreds of people were “disrupting the public order” at the site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, and some had barricaded themselves inside the mosque.

Israeli police arrested more than 80 Palestinians, Sheikh Omar Al Kiswani, director of Al Aqsa Mosque, told Palestine TV, Reuters reported.

Stones littered the complex while heavily armed police used weapons such as stun grenades against people at the site.

Such scenes are reminiscent of violence at Al Aqsa a year ago that preceded the 11-day war between Israel and Gaza militants.

Israel, which has occupied East Jerusalem since 1967, said the government is “committed to freedom of worship for people of all faiths”.

“I send my support to the security forces who acted this morning with sensitivity and determination, thus enabling prayers to continue as normal,” Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said Israel’s security forces had launched a “brutal assault” at the holy site.

“Our people have the right to defend their land and sanctities,” the premier said.

Jordan, which is the custodian of the holy site, released a joint statement with the Palestinian Authority accusing Israel of “a dangerous and condemnable escalation that threatens to explode the situation”.

Friday’s violence came after Israeli forces killed at least 12 Palestinians in the West Bank during the past week. Those killed include alleged militants, a child accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail, and an unarmed woman.

Over the past month, 14 people have been killed in attacks in Israel that were carried out by Arab-Israelis or Palestinians from the West Bank.

The situation in Jerusalem was relatively calm over the same period, with Israeli security forces arresting some Palestinians at the Old City’s Damascus Gate.

Separately, police arrested four people and uncovered a goat on Thursday after reports that radical Israelis intended to carry out an animal sacrifice at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound.

Jews are allowed to visit but not pray or carry out religious ceremonies at the site. A notice offering a financial reward to anyone who sacrificed a sheep or goat at the compound was posted on Facebook.