Israeli police raid al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem for second time on consecutive nights

Israeli police raided the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem for the second time in two straight nights on Wednesday, with Palestinians who were worshipping barricading themselves inside and Israeli authorities removing dozens of them by force. 

The clashes come as Muslims are in the midst of celebrating the holy month of Ramadan and Jewish people observe Passover. Police earlier on Wednesday fired stun grenades at Palestinians who were throwing stones and firecrackers back. 

Palestinian militants in Gaza responded to the violence with rocket fire hitting southern Israel. 

The situation calmed down by Wednesday morning, but officials for the Islamic Waqf, which oversees the mosque, said police used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd on Wednesday evening. Police could also be seen escorting Palestinians out of the mosque. 

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian organization, reported that at least six people were injured. 

Israel police said “dozens of law-breaking juveniles” caused the situation through throwing rocks and other objects at officers. They said they took action to bring back “security, law and order.” 

Waqf had called for Palestinians to pray overnight inside the mosque. 

The Israeli military said Palestinian militants launched two more rockets from Gaza following the Wednesday night violence but no casualties were reported. 

Al-Aqsa is the third holiest location in Islam, but the location is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. The mosque is located at a site known as the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism. 

Contentions over the area have led Israelis and Palestinians to break out into violence in the past, leading to an 11-day war between Israeli and Hamas, a militant group that controls Gaza, in 2021. 

Palestinian militant groups said they expect violence to continue, but a Palestinian official said the Palestinian Authority, which controls portions of the West Bank, is working with officials from Egypt, Jordan, the United States and the United Nations to achieve de-escalation. 

Israel’s government has stepped up raids on Palestinian areas since a right-wing coalition, the most conservative in Israel’s history, came into power after winning a parliamentary election last year. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.