Riots have been taking place in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Mosque since morning. Israeli security forces report that Palestinian youths are throwing stones and flares at them and that they have been arranging the area since 7am today to allow Jewish worshippers to enter a special open-air area, as is customary during the ten-day Jewish Passover celebrations that began yesterday.
It is noted that this Sunday, in the Old City of Jerusalem, the Catholic Easter service, prayers for the Jewish Passover and prayers for the Muslim month of Ramadan are being celebrated.
According to Israeli police, a city bus carrying Jewish pilgrims to the Wailing Wall was targeted by Arab youths throwing stones, resulting in 7 of the passengers being slightly injured. On the other hand, as reported by foreign news agencies, according to the Red Crescent, 17 Palestinians were injured by noon in the incidents at Al Aqsa Mosque Square and the Wailing Wall and two Palestinians were arrested for the bus incident.
The presence of police and border guard forces both inside the Old City of Jerusalem and on the roadways between Israel, the West Bank and Gaza remains increased. However, as Defence Minister Beni Gants announced last night, and contrary to what usually happens, it was finally decided not to impose the blockade of the West Bank and Gaza until the end of the Jewish holiday decade. Meanwhile , Israeli security forces released yesterday morning 440 of the 470 Palestinians arrested last Friday for taking part in violent incidents at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This tactic by the Israeli security forces is aimed at reducing tension, as announced by the civilian leadership of the Ministry of Defence, and is reportedly the result of behind-the-scenes initiatives by the Egyptian intelligence services, which contacted Israeli and Hamas agents.
The Palestinian Authority, Jordan and the Hamas and Islamic Jihad , in statements blaming the Israeli side for the escalation of tension in the Al-Aqsa Mosque. On the other hand, the arrival of Jewish pilgrims at the Wailing Wall continues as normal, as does the movement of Palestinian holders of legal work permits from the West Bank to Israel.
The road link between the Arab cities of northern Israel and the Palestinian city of Jenin in the northern West Bank, which has been the focus of extensive Israeli military operations in recent days to arrest suspected accomplices of the Palestinian 28-year-old gunman in the armed attack in downtown Tel Aviv, remains open.
The leadership group of the Arab Islamist Ra'am party is due to meet in the midday hours to decide whether to continue its parliamentary support for the Bennett-Lapid government. In yesterday's statements , party leader Mansour Abbas , left open the possibility of his party ceasing to support the ruling coalition.
The party's MP, Mazen Gaem, yesterday delivered a letter of protest to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, stating that if Israeli security forces continue to arrest protesters at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, he will withdraw his support for the government regardless of party line. The Bennett-Lapid government since last Wednesday has lost its majority in the Knesset following the resignation of the head of the pro-government parliamentary group, Yemina party MP Idit Shillman, and the government formation is supported by only 60 MPs out of 120 Knesset members.
Today's riots at both the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the bus incident prompted anti-government statements from the right-wing opposition parties as well. In particular, opposition leader Benjamin Natanyahu called on the government to resign, accusing it of failing to manage the situation.
At the same time, MP Itamar Ben-Gvir of the far-right ethno-religious Jewish Power party threatened that if the Arab protesters are not brought under the full control of the security forces and the measure of blockading the West Bank and Gaza during the festive decade is not enforced, will open an improvised political office in the courtyard of the Damascus Gate, the entrance used by the vast majority of Arab residents of the Old City of Jerusalem.
It is recalled that a similar move by this MP in the Sheh-Zerrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem further inflamed tensions in the city two months ago.
Source: CNA
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