Israeli police crackdown on Palestinians at Jerusalem’s Bab al-Amoud

For the fourth consecutive night, Israeli police Tuesday night cracked down on Palestinians who gathered at Bab al-Amoud in the occupied city of East Jerusalem, according to WAFA correspondent.

She said that heavily-armed police officers used rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades and batons to disperse Palestinians who gathered at Bab al-Amoud, also known as Damascus Gate, one of the main gates of the Old City of Jerusalem.

Police were heavily deployed at Bab al-Amoud and along the way to Bab al-Sahira, also known as Herod’s Gate, in addition to Sultan Suleiman and al-Rasheed Streets, Nablus Street and al-Musrara area, triggering renewed confrontations.

They closed Bab al-Sahira, preventing vehicles from passing the street and causing traffic jams.

12 Palestinians were detained in the course of the confrontations.

Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed that its medics provided treatment for at least an injury at Bab al-Amoud.

The current tensions are reminiscent of the 2021 May and Ramadan tensions over Israeli settler takeover of Palestinian property in Shekh Jarrah and encroachments upon the mosque compound.

During the 2021 Ramadan month, Jerusalem saw protests and night-time confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian worshippers, with tensions mounting over the police decision to ban people from sitting on the stairs outside Bab al-Amoud under the guise of implementing the coronavirus restrictions, and its decision to disconnect the power supply to the call to prayer at the mosque compound.

The tensions further simmered following the forced expulsions of Palestinian families from their houses in Sheikh Jarrah.

For many Palestinians in Jerusalem and across the occupied Palestinian territory, Ramadan is directly connected to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound houses both the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque and is considered the third holiest site in Islam.

Al-Aqsa is located in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian territories that have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.

Source: Palestine News & Information Agency