Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday, injuring at least 16 Palestinians and arresting dozens. Injuries reported included 14 with fractures from rubber-coated bullets and tear gas suffocation, the Sama al-Quds field medical center told Al Jazeera. About 50 Palestinian males, including the elderly and children, were arrested and escorted out of the compound from Bab al-Silsila (Chain Gate). Settler incursions under police protection into the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound resumed after a 10-day pause during the last days of Ramadan, during which there were heightened tensions.
In a statement on Thursday, Hamas said settler incursions are “a serious escalation and direct provocation, threatening a comprehensive explosion, for which the occupation government bears full responsibility.”. Israel is celebrating its establishment 74 years ago on Thursday in accordance with the Jewish calendar, which it refers to as Independence Day. Palestinians commemorate the day on May 15 as the Nakba or catastrophe–during which 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from historic Palestine. The holy site has been the center of days of violence amid heightened tensions following a series of attacks inside Israel and raids in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
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