Police confront journalists at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Image by Hind Hassan.
Dozens of Palestinians were injured after Israeli special forces stormed the grounds of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Friday, after days of confrontations between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police. Video captured by VICE World News shows Israeli special forces storming the grounds of the mosque in Jerusalem and firing rubber bullets and sound grenades at a group of journalists, injuring at least two Palestinians.
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Earlier in the morning, some Palestinians threw stones in the direction of Israeli forces. Protesters were angered by previous days’ events, when ultra-far-right Israeli nationalists were escorted onto the grounds of the mosque—one of the holiest sites for Muslims in the world—during the Islamic month of Ramadan. The event marked the latest of several incursions in the past week by Israeli police into the grounds of the Al-Aqsa mosque, which is known to Jews as Temple Mount and is sacred in both Islam and Judaism. Hundreds of Palestinians were wounded and detained. At least 31 Palestinians have been injured in today’s confrontation in Jerusalem. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance service, 14 Palestinians were taken to the hospital, two with serious injuries. Israeli police said that one police officer had been injured after being hit by a stone.
VICE World News also witnessed Palestinians, including women and children, being tear-gassed when an Israeli drone dropped multiple canisters from the air. These drones were first used by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza in 2018 but have since been authorized for wider use in the West Bank and Jerusalem. This is the first time a drone has been used to drop tear gas on crowds in the Al-Aqsa grounds.