| 2022 Al-Aqsa clashes | |||
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| Part of theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict | |||
_05.jpg) TheAl-Aqsa compound, also known as the Temple Mount, where the clashes occurred | |||
| Date | 15 April 2022 (3 years ago) | ||
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On 15 April 2022, clashes erupted betweenPalestinians andIsraeli Security Forces on theAl-Aqsa compound in theOld City ofJerusalem. According to the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, the clashes began when Palestinians threw stones, firecrackers, and other heavy objects at Israeli police officers. The policemen usedtear gas shells,stun grenades andpolice batons against the Palestinians.[6][7][8] Some Palestinians afterwards barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque and proceeded to throw stones at the officers.[6][9] In response, police raided the mosque, arresting those who had barricaded themselves inside. In addition, some damage was done to the mosque's structure.[6][10][11]
Over the course of the clashes, around 160 Palestinians were injured, including aWaqf guard shot in the eye with a rubber bullet,[11] 4 women, 27 children, and one journalist. Approximately 400 people were arrested; the majority of them were released later that day.[6][12] Three Israeli police officers were also wounded.[6][4] Concerns were raised about possible excessive use of force by Israeli forces.[6]
The break-in into the mosque caused a stir among the Palestinian public, and many reactions among the international community.[13][14][15][16] The clashes were reported in the Arabic-speaking media as a storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque,[17][18] while Israeli authorities and media often use the term riots to refer to these events.[19][20]
Additional skirmishes, though more restricted, occurred in the days that followed at the Holy Sites and in and around the Old City.[6]
On 14 April,Al-Jazeera reported an increased likelihood of another Israeli-Palestinian confrontation due to increasing tensions in Israel and thePalestinian Territories.[21] In March and April 2022, Palestinians and Israeli Arabs carried out a series of violent attacks that led to the death of 17 Israelis, making it the deadliest period since 2006.[22] A United Nations agency estimated Israeli forces have killed at least 40 Palestinians since February, when tensions started to rise.[12][23]
TheTemple Mount in Jerusalem is one of the most contested religious sites in the world. It is considered the holiest site in Judaism, as it was the location of twoJewish temples in antiquity. For Muslims, the Mount is the site of the third sacred mosque in Islam, the Al-Aqsa Mosque. While the site has been controlled byIsrael since 1967, it is administered by theJerusalem Islamic Waqf under thecustodianship of Jordan. Some Palestinians believe that Israel is trying to change thestatus quo invarious ways, for example, by allowing Jews to pray in the Temple Mount.[24][25][10] For them, Israel has broken a decades-old understanding[24] that allowed Jews to visit but not worship there.[25]
Shortly before the incident, a Jewish extremist religious group calledReturning to the Mount announced that it intended to performPassover sacrifices on theTemple Mount during the Jewish holiday ofPassover.[26][12][17] On 14 April six members were arrested planning to sacrifice a goat on the Temple Mount.[27] Rumours had been circulating onsocial media that Jewish hard-liners were planning to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the weekend.[10]
During the Muslim holy month ofRamadan the year before, nighttime demonstrations aboutevictions in Jerusalem and raids at the Al-Aqsa compound led, four days later, to an11-day confrontation between Israel and Gaza.[21]
According to the Israeli police, Palestinian protesters began marching at around 4:00 AM withPalestinian andHamas flags in the location around the mosque. Police statements indicate that the protests turned violent as demonstrators threw rocks at theWestern Wall and litfirecrackers,[12] which police responded to by usingtear gas andstun grenades against the crowd.[28] The protesters are then said to have attacked police officers with stones, injuring three.[12] The fighting was reported to have occurred near theLions' Gate.[28]
Al Jazeera reported that "a number of occupation soldiers climbed on the roofs of buildings surrounding Al-Aqsa Mosque. They evacuated the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque and closed most of the doors leading to it".[17] According toYnet andReuters news, "Police says forces entered the compound after theRamadan morning prayer to break up a violent crowd that started rioting at the holy site and threw stones toward the nearby Jewish prayer space of the Western Wall; Police adds 3 officers lightly injured, as were 59 rioters."[29]
Some of the Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque.[9] Police said that Palestinians had been stockpiling stones and throwing them from the mosque.[12] TheNew York Times stated that the confrontation started at about 5:30 a.m.[3]Palestinians said that the Israeli officers entered the building just after theMuezzin announced theAdhan, while police said that they had waited until after the prayers ended. Policemen evacuated worshippers from the mosque withpolice batons[10] as stun grenades and firecrackers used in the clashes caused a massive plume of smoke to go off. Israeli police temporarily blocked theDamascus Gate and restricted other entrances to exclude young men while permitting women, older men and children.[28] The police left six hours later and the mosque's routine went on without any incidents.[30]
ThePalestine Red Crescent Society said 158 Palestinians had been injured, primarily byrubber bullets, stun grenades, andpolice batons.[31] Roughly 470 people were detained by Israeli forces.[30] On April 16, it was reported that 130 people were still imprisoned. Sixty-five minors were released withrestraining orders, and 200 detainees were let free afterquestioning by law enforcement.[30]
On Friday evening, hundreds ofArab Israelis inUmm al-Fahm organized demonstrations to protest the Israeli incursion, some of which escalated intoriots.[32] The same day, a Palestinian teenager stabbed and wounded a man inHaifa. The girl later admitted that she had done it in response to the storming of the mosque.[33][34]Channel 12 reported on April 16 that Egyptian authorities had convinced the Palestinian militant groupHamas not to fire rockets in response.[35]
On April 17, further violence began when the police confined Muslims already inside the compound and denied access to Muslims who were still outside the site. Jews were given an armed police escort around the compound.[36] Palestinians threw stones on three buses headed to the Western Wall. Seven passengers were injured.[37] Jewish worshippers wearing prayer shawls were attacked in theOld City.[38] Police officers entered the Temple Mount again, saying that Palestinian crowds were trying to prevent non-Muslims from entering the Mount.[39] Nine people were arrested and Palestinian medics said that 17 people were wounded.[40] A stabbing attempt in theIsraeli settlement ofBeit El was foiled by security forces.[41] TheUnited Arab List (Ra'am) announced it would temporarily halt itscoalition membership in theGovernment of Israel in protest against the situation at al-Aqsa.[42]
On April 15, UN Secretary General António Guterres said in a statement that provocations on the Holy Esplanade needed to cease and for the status quo to be upheld and respected.[43] According to the U.S State department, US Secretary of StateAntony Blinken and Jordanian Foreign MinisterAyman Safadi discussed the situation on 18 April and “Secretary Blinken emphasized the importance of upholding the historic status quo at the Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount, and appreciation for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s special role as custodian of Muslim holy places in Jerusalem,” Jordan’s King Abdullah, speaking with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said that “provocative acts” by Israel violated “the legal and historic status quo” of the Muslim holy shrines.[42][44]
On April 22, Israeli police in full riot gear stormed the mosque after Palestinian stone throwing at a gate where they were stationed.[45][46] According to police, rioters had hurled stones and launched firecrackers at officers at early morning and had also barricaded themselves in the mosque.[47] Israeli police used a drone to fire tear gas into groups of Palestinians.[48] On 29 April, the last Friday of Ramadan, there were new clashes at the mosquefollowing the prior weeks of violence in Israel and the West Bank. 42 Palestinians were wounded.[49][50]
On May 8, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that Israel will make its own decisions concerning Jerusalem and the Temple Mount after Ra’am party leaderMansour Abbas said "“Ra’am’s position in the coalition, as regards the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, will be based on the results of the joint Israeli-Jordanian-international meetings,”,[51] It was announced on May 10 President Biden is to meet Jordan's King Abdullah on May 13. Maintenance of the status quo at the Al-Aqsa mosque will be one topic of discussion. Israeli and Jordanian officials are expected to discuss the situation in Jerusalem in the near future.[52]
Palestinian Authority Minister for Jerusalem AffairsFadi al-Hadami strongly condemned the raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli forces. He blamedIsrael for the actions and called on the international community to intervene immediately to stop Israeli actions against Muslim holy sites.[53]
Hussein al-Sheikh, a seniorPLO official, warned against alleged Israeli attempts to divide the Temple Mount between Muslims and Jews.[54]
The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process,Tor Wennesland, expressed his deep concern over what is happening in the city of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. He said "I am deeply concerned about the deteriorating conditions in the city of Jerusalem during these holy days." The UN official demanded that the provocations at Al-Haram Al-Sharif be stopped immediately.[55]
In a joint statement,Germany,France,Italy andSpain called for respecting the currentstatus of the holy sites inJerusalem and also respectingJordan's role in these holy sites, and called "all parties to exercise the utmost restraint and to refrain from violence and all forms of provocation."[56]
Saudi Arabia expressed its condemnation and denunciation of the Israel Defense Forces storming Al-Aqsa Mosque, closing its gates, and attacking unarmed worshippers inside the mosque and in its external squares. It also considered "this systematic escalation is a blatant attack on the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and a violation of international resolutions and covenants".[16]
Kuwait expressed its strong condemnation and denunciation of the Israel Defense Forces' storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the attack on worshipers. It also considered "These attacks are a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of all international conventions and resolutions and a reason to fuel violence and undermine the stability of the region".[57]
The spokesperson for theMinistry of Foreign Affairs ofEgypt, Ambassador Ahmed Hafez, "condemned the Israeli forces’ storming of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the violence that followed this incursion against Palestinians in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque", which resulted in the injury and arrest of dozens of worshipers. He stressed, "the necessity of self-restraint and providing full protection for Muslim worshipers and allowing them to perform Islamic rites in Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is a purely Islamic endowment for Muslims."[58]
Iran strongly censured the Israel Defense Forces' storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque.Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the current foreign minister of Iran, stated this incident a sign of the resistance of the heroic and brave the Palestinian people and the desperation of the Zionists, during a phone call withIsmail Haniyeh, Chief of Hamas's Political Bureau. Also, Saeed Khatibzadeh, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman called the Israeli forces' operations violated international law and human rights.[59]
The storming was also condemned byBahrain,Morocco and theUnited Arab Emirates, which hadnormalized relations with Israel two years before.[13][14] On 24 April, leaders from Jordan, Egypt and UAE met to discuss restoring calm in Jerusalem.[15]
For months, the Israeli police protected Jewish worshipers at the site, breaking a decades-old understanding, aimed at preventing conflict, that allowed Jews to visit but not worship there. That change has created the impression among Palestinians that Israel is trying to unilaterally change the delicate status quo, and further undermine Muslim access to and oversight of one of the most sacred places in Islam.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)On both days, however, Israeli police stormed Al Aqsa in order to stop stone‑throwing and make arrests, crossing what many Palestinians regard as a red line.
The clashes on Sunday followed a more intense incident on Friday, when Israeli riot police officers, firing rubber-tipped bullets and stun grenades, stormed the main mosque in the compound to detain hundreds of Palestinians, many of whom had been throwing stones at them.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| Al-Aqsa |
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31°46′34″N35°14′09″E / 31.77617°N 35.23583°E /31.77617; 35.23583
