Israeli police attack worshippers in Al-Aqsa Mosque

By Esat Firat

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli police attacked Muslim worshippers late on Friday inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem's Old City.

Israeli police attempted to disperse worshippers inside the Haram al-Sharif area via stun grenade and gas bomb, causing many injuries, an official from the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf (religious endowments) told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.

The police attacked worshippers who were praying in the Masjid al-Qiblatain inside al-Aqsa with stun grenades and rubber bullets.

Meanwhile, clashes took place between Israeli security forces and Palestinians trying to enter Al-Aqsa through the Bab Al-Silsila, one of the gates to the mosque.

The intervention by Israeli police who also attacked young Palestinians in front of the Damascus and Es-Sahire gates of the Old City, caused panic among women and children.

Police allow for controlled passage through the gates of the Old City.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz in Ankara.