Jerusalem: worrying rise in tensions
Israeli police face protesters during clashes outside the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem on May 7, 2021. REUTERS - AMMAR AWAD
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Israel is preparing for new clashes with the Palestinians as more than 200 wounded in Jerusalem and two dead in the West Bank were counted yesterday.
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On the ground, writes
our correspondent in Jerusalem,
Christian Brunel
,
the Israeli police have indeed deployed new reinforcements in and around the old city.
Several access roads were closed.
The army has also been placed on high alert in the occupied West Bank.
Two Palestinians, who the army said were preparing to carry out an attack in Israel, were killed there and another seriously injured by gunfire.
Expulsion project
This sudden escalation of violence was notably caused by a plan to evict dozens of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem for the benefit of Israeli settlers. For the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the Palestinians take advantage of "
a real estate conflict between individuals
" to incite violence. No lull seems in sight, on the contrary, the next few days are likely to be at very high risk.
The images of this outburst of violence are looping on social networks and in the media, tells
our other correspondent on the spot
,
Alice Froussard
: in particular those of the stun grenades and the rubber bullets thrown by the Israeli army at the Palestinians in the inside the al-Aqsa mosque, but also the video of a soldier, at the entrance of the old city of Jerusalem, who throws a grenade into a crowd, where there are children.
Finally, we also see the photos of the Esplanade des Mosques, under tear gas from the army, stones and bottles thrown in return.
Fragile calm
This morning, calm has returned, but it remains fragile: the police have reopened the plaza for prayer and thousands of faithful entered singing. Palestinian Red Crescent medical teams, who were denied immediate access by Israeli security forces, have recorded at least 205 Palestinians injured since last night; several of them have lost an eye. The United States, the United Nations and the European Union reacted in statements, calling for a "
de-escalation of violence
" as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas holds the Israeli government responsible for the violence .
On Sunday, Muslims celebrate the "night of fate" which marks the revelation of the Koran to the Prophet Muhammad, while the Israelis will celebrate Jerusalem Day, organized for the annexation of the Arab part of the city with parades of nationalists in the old city while on Monday, the Israeli Supreme Court must rule on the plans for evictions in East Jerusalem.
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See also: More than 180 injured in clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police in Jerusalem
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