Riots continue in Israel: hundreds of victims, fires and rockets from the Gaza Strip

Israeli police fired tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets as they clashed with rock-throwing Palestinians at a holy site in Jerusalem on Monday, the latest in a series of clashes that threatened to push the contested city into wider conflict. Writes about this Fox News.

More than a dozen tear gas canisters and stun grenades fell at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, located in an area sacred to both Jews and Muslims, a photographer on site told The Associated Press. Smoke rose in front of the mosque and the iconic golden-domed temple on this site, and the surrounding square was strewn with stones. Shoes and debris were scattered across decorative carpets inside one section of the complex.

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, more than 305 Palestinians were affected, including 228 who sought treatment at hospitals and clinics. Seven of the wounded were in serious condition. According to police, 21 police officers were injured, including three hospitalized.

The confrontation on Monday 10 May came after weeks of escalating tensions between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the Old City of Jerusalem, the emotional center of their conflict. The clashes took place during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, already at a time of heightened religious sensitivity.

More recently, tensions have been fueled by an eviction plan in the Arab region of east Jerusalem, where Israeli settlers have fought a lengthy legal battle over property ownership.

Hundreds of Palestinians and about two dozen police have been injured in recent days in clashes at the holy complex, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. The complex, which has been the trigger for outbreaks of Israeli-Palestinian violence in the past, is Islam's third holiest site and considered Judaism's holiest site.

An AP photographer who arrived on the scene reported that protesters barricaded the gates of the walled complex with wooden planks and scrap metal in the early morning of 10 May. After about 7:00, clashes broke out, during which those on the inside threw stones at the police outside. The police entered the compound using tear gas, rubber-coated steel pellets and stun grenades.

At one point, about 400 people, both young protesters and elderly parishioners, were inside the carpeted Al-Aqsa Mosque. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades on the mosque.

Police said protesters threw stones at officers and on the adjacent roadway near the Western Wall, where thousands of Israeli Jews gathered to pray.

Late Sunday night, May 9, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben Shabbat. The White House said in a statement that Sullivan called on Israel "to take appropriate measures to ensure calm" and expressed "serious US concern" about the ongoing violence and planned evictions.

On the subject: At the holiday in Israel, there was a massive crush: 44 dead, more than 100 injured

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke out against criticism on Sunday, May 10, calling Israel's actions in Jerusalem a problem of law and order. Netanyahu said Israel is determined to ensure the right to worship for all, and that to do this, "from time to time it is necessary to stand up and stand firm, as the Israeli police and our security forces are doing now."

Ophir Gendelman, a spokesman for Netanyahu, said in a tweet that “extremist Palestinians had planned in advance for rioting” at the holy site, sharing photos of rock mounds and wooden barricades inside the complex.

Ayman Odeh, a leading Arab politician in Israel, accused the violence of Israel's discriminatory policies towards the Palestinians and said that it provoked the violence.

“Wherever you go, you will meet resistance,” he told a news conference in Sheikh Jarrah, near homes where residents are threatened with eviction.

In another incident, Palestinian protesters threw stones at an Israeli car passing just outside the walls of the Old City. Later, the driver told Kanu TV channel that his windows were broken by stones and pepper spray hit the car as he passed the Old Town. CCTV footage released by police shows the crowd surrounding the car and throwing stones at it as it veered off the road and hit a stone fence and collided with passers-by.

Police said two passengers were injured.

The day began with police announcing that Jews would be banned from visiting the holy site on the day Israelis celebrate as Jerusalem Day, with a parade through the Old City, which many Palestinians perceive as a provocative demonstration in the contested city. Marchers celebrate Israel's establishment of control over East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War.

In this conflict, Israel also established control over the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Later - over East Jerusalem and considers the entire city to be its capital. The Palestinians are considering all three areas for a future state with its capital in East Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Day parade has been cleared by police, despite growing concerns that it could further escalate tensions after violence occurs almost every night during Ramadan.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York

It began when Israel blocked a popular place where Muslims traditionally gather every night at the end of their day's fast. Israel later lifted the restrictions, but clashes quickly resumed amid tensions over the planned eviction of Palestinians from the Arab quarter of Sheikh Jarrah.

Israel's Supreme Court postponed on May 10 a key decision that could have forced dozens of Palestinians to flee their homes, citing "circumstances." Tensions in Jerusalem threaten to spill over the region.

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired several volleys of rockets at Israel, and protesters affiliated with the ruling group of Hamas militants fired dozens of incendiary balloons at Israel, sparking wildfires in the southern part of the country.

“The occupiers are playing with fire, and interference in Jerusalem is very dangerous,” senior Hamas official Saleh Arouri told Al-Aqsa TV.

In response, COGAT, the Israel Defense Ministry's body responsible for crossings through the Gaza Strip, announced that it would close the Erez checkpoint to all but humanitarian and exceptional cases until further notice.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• On the evening of May 7 in Jerusalem there were clashes between Palestinians and police... As a result, 205 Palestinians and 17 Israeli police officers were injured in the incident. The collision took place at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. The situation escalated with the threat of eviction of Palestinian families from the eastern part of the city.
• Palestinians tried to throw stones at police. In response, they used rubber bullets and tear gas.
• The Al-Aqsa Mosque is one of the most revered shrines of Islam, located in the heart of old Jerusalem. There is also a sacred site for the Jews - the Temple Mount. This place is often a hotbed of conflict and violence.

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