Clashes In Jerusalem Leaves 117 Palestinians Injured As Israeli Forces Enter Masjid Al Aqsa.

The Israeli occupational forces entered Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem during pre-dawn (Fajr) prayers resulting in clashes that left 117 Palestinians injured.

Israel alleged that its forces entered to remove rocks and stones that had been gathered in anticipation of violence.

Videos circulating online showed Israeli forces firing tear gas and stun grenades on the sprawling esplanade surrounding the mosque. Others showed worshippers barricading themselves inside the mosque itself amid what appeared to be clouds of tear gas.

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The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said it treated 117 people, many of them wounded by rubber-coated bullets or stun grenades, or beaten with batons.

The holy site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, has often been the epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian unrest, and tensions were already heightened amid a recent wave of violence.

The clashes come at a particularly sensitive time. Ramadan this year coincides with Passover, a major weeklong Jewish holiday beginning Friday at sundown, and Christian holy week, which culminates on Easter Sunday. The holidays are expected to bring tens of thousands of faithful into Jerusalem’s Old City, home to major sites sacred to all three religions.

The endowment said one of the guards at the site was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet.

Tensions have soared in recent weeks following a series of attacks by Palestinians that killed 14 people inside Israel. Israel has carried out a wave of arrests and military operations across the occupied West Bank, setting off clashes with Palestinians.

The Israeli police said three officers were wounded from massive stone-throwing, with two evacuated from the scene for treatment.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said dozens of masked men carrying Palestinian and Hamas flags marched to the compound early Friday and gathered stones.

Police were forced to enter the grounds to disperse the crowd and remove the stones and rocks, in order to prevent further violence, it tweeted.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said a 17-year-old died early Friday from wounds suffered during clashes with Israeli forces in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, the day before.

At least 25 Palestinians have been killed in the recent wave of violence, according to an Associated Press count, many of whom had carried out attacks or were involved in the clashes, but also an unarmed woman and a lawyer who appears to have been killed by mistake.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians were expected to gather at Al-Aqsa for midday Friday prayers.

Weeks of protests and clashes in Jerusalem during Ramadan last year eventually ignited an 11-day war with the Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.

Israel had lifted restrictions and taken other steps to try and calm tensions ahead of Ramadan, but the attacks and the military raids have brought about another cycle of unrest.

Hamas condemned what it said were brutal attacks” on worshippers at Al-Aqsa by Israeli forces, saying Israel would bear “all the consequences.” It called on all Palestinians to stand by our people in Jerusalem.