• Middle East Israel "is not a country, but a terrorist base," says Iranian supreme guide

More than 200 Palestinians had to be hospitalized because of riots with Israeli security forces in

occupied

East Jerusalem

, amid mounting tension that reached the

Esplanade of the Mosques

last night

, the Red Crescent reported.

The Red Crescent set up a field hospital to treat dozens of wounded, many from rubber bullets and rocket grenades.

A fragile calm seemed to reestablish Friday night in

East Jerusalem

, the Palestinian part of the city occupied by Israel since 1967 and later annexed.

The Holy City lives

days of tension due

to the repeated demonstrations for a week against the plans to expel Palestinian families from the

Sheikh Jarrah

neighborhood for the

benefit of Israeli settlers.

In addition, the police

killed two Palestinians and seriously injured a third

, after they opened fire on a military checkpoint in the northern

West Bank

.

Faced with the escalation of incidents in the territories occupied by Israel, the United States urged to "de-escalate tensions" and avoid unilateral steps.

US State Department spokesman

Ned Price

warned that it was "essential" to avoid any action that could aggravate the situation, such as "expulsions in

East Jerusalem

, colonization activities, house demolitions and acts of terrorism."

The UN Middle East

coordinator Tor Wennesland

said he was "deeply concerned" by the situation and called for "responsibility" and "calm."

"We hold Israel responsible for the dangerous events in the old city," said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abas, who described the Palestinians gathered on the Esplanade of the Mosques as a "heroic people."

The Palestinian Islamist armed movement

Hamas

, in power in the Gaza Strip, called on Palestinians to remain in the square from Saturday night until Thursday morning, when Ramadan could end.

"The Israeli occupation must realize that the resistance is prepared to defend (the mosque)

Al Aqsa

at any cost,"

Hamas

said

.

Israeli Arab parties have called for protests in mostly Arab-populated Israeli cities.

Jordan, officially the guardian of the Muslim holy sites in

East Jerusalem

, denounced "a savage aggression" by the Israeli security forces.

Incidents on the Esplanade

The E

xplanade of Mosques

(called the Temple Mount by the Jews) is the third holy place in Islam and is located just above the Wailing Wall, the most important prayer place for Jews.

Although tension is common in that part of the Old City of Jerusalem, violence is not within the esplanade, which is

usually monitored remotely by the Israeli police

.

But this Friday was the last of the fasting month of Ramadan, and for that reason a large crowd of Muslims gathered on the esplanade.

According to the Israeli police, "hundreds of people

threw stones, bottles and other objects

at officers, who responded."

Spokesman Wassem Badr called it "violent riots".

Demonstrations against the possibility of four Palestinian families being evicted from their homes in the

Shaykh Jarrah

neighborhood

have been happening daily as night falls.

Friday's protests in the area

degenerated into clashes with at least four Palestinians injured

, according to the Red Crescent.

The dispute centers on the ownership of land on which several houses were built where these Palestinian families live.

The Jerusalem district court ruled in favor of Jewish families claiming ownership of the land.

Under Israeli law, if Jews can prove that their family lived in East Jerusalem before the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, they can ask to have their "property rights" restored to them - legislation that Palestinians challenge head-on.

Shooting against military

In the incident in the northern

West Bank

, "three terrorists fired in the direction of the border guard base in Salem," a Palestinian town near the city of Jenin, police said.

The security forces replied using their firearms, according to this source.

Two of the three assailants died, according to medical sources.

The third was admitted to an Israeli hospital in "critical condition," police said.

Friday's attack also coincided with the "Day of Al Qods (Jerusalem in Arabic)" held every year in the countries of the region and mainly in Iran, a sworn enemy of Israel, in support of the Palestinian people.

In Tehran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supreme guide of the Islamic Republic of Iran, advocated the fight against Israel,

calling it a "terrorist base

.

"

For him, the "fall of the enemy Zionist regime" is inevitable.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Israel

  • international

  • Palestine

Middle East Palestinian President Abu Mazen postpones May elections

Middle EastMore than 100 injured in night riots in Jerusalem

Middle EastIsraeli attacks in Gaza after a new rocket fire at Israel

See links of interest

  • Work calendar

  • Home THE WORLD TODAY

  • Mutua Madrid Open: Rafael Nadal - Alexander Zverev

  • VfB Stuttgart - FC Augsburg

  • Real Sociedad - Elche

  • Leicester City - Newcastle United