UPDATE - Israeli forces attack worshippers inside Aqsa mosque

UPDATES WITH BACKGROUND

By Said Amouri

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli forces Tuesday evening attacked Palestinian Muslim worshippers inside the Al-Aqsa mosque in the occupied city of Jerusalem, leaving many of them wounded, while arresting others, according to eyewitnesses.

The Israeli attack took place near the Al-Rahma gate of the flashpoint mosque, the eyewitnesses added, without specifying the number of soldiers.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said its team treated one worshipper wounded by the attack en route to the hospital, without providing further details.

On Sunday evening, Israeli police temporarily shut the Al-Rahma Gate, triggering Palestinian protests the following day.

Located east of the mosque, the gate was closed by Israeli forces in 2003. An Israeli court, meanwhile, renewed its closure in 2017.

Jerusalem’s Department of Islamic Endowments -- run by Jordan -- has repeatedly called for re-opening the gate, but Israeli police have yet to respond.