JERUSALEM – Clashes between Israeli riot police and Palestinians broke out at one of Jerusalem’s holiest sites early on Friday, the first day of the rare convergence of the holy month of Ramadan, the Feast of Ramadan. Passover and Easter, culminating in weeks of escalating violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
Clashes between Israelis and stoning Palestinians lasted for hours at the site, the Aqsa Mosque complex in the Old City, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, when tens of thousands of worshipers gathered. Muslims gather there for dawn prayer on the second Friday. of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting.
Many people are expected to flock to the Old City during the day for the weekly Muslim Friday Prayer and to celebrate Good Friday and the first night of Passover, which begins at sundown.
Israeli police fired sonic grenades and rubber bullets during hours of clashes at the site sacred to both Muslims and Jews. The police expelled many worshipers, but some returned later. At least 117 Palestinians were injured, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Israeli police said several officers were also injured.
