UAE calls on Israel to de-escalate situation in Al-Aqsa and Sheikh Jarrah

Israeli police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades towards rock-hurling Palestinian youth at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque on Friday amid growing anger over the potential eviction of Palestinians from homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers.

Khalifa Shaheen Almarar, Minister of State, expressed the UAE’s deep concern over the violence in occupied East Jerusalem and its strong condemnation of the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the displacement of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, which resulted in the injury of a number of civilians.

He stressed that the UAE strongly condemns the Israeli authorities' storming of the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, stressing the need for the Israeli authorities to assume their responsibilities - in accordance with the rules of international law - to protect Palestinian civilians’ right to practice their religion, and to prevent practices that violate the sanctity of the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Moreover, He stressed the need to respect the role of the brotherly Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in protecting holy places, under international law and the historical status quo, and not to compromise the authority and powers of the Jerusalem Endowment Department.

The Minister of State called on the Israeli authorities to take responsibility for de-escalation, to end all attacks and practices that lead to continued tension, and to preserve the historical identity of occupied Jerusalem, while exercising calm and maximum restraint to prevent an escalation of threats to regional peace and stability.

At least 205 Palestinians and 17 officers were injured in the night-time clashes at Islam's third-holiest site and around East Jerusalem, Palestinian medics and Israeli police said, as thousands of Palestinians faced off with several hundred Israeli police in riot gear.

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Tension has mounted in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, with nightly clashes in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah — a neighbourhood where numerous Palestinian families face eviction in a long-running legal case.

Israeli policemen aim their weapons at protesters during clashes with Palestinians at Al Aqsa Mosque. Reuters

Calls for calm and restraint poured in on Friday from the United States and the United Nations, with others including the European Union and Jordan voicing alarm at the possible evictions.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians packed into the hilltop compound surrounding the mosque earlier on Friday for prayers. Many stayed on to protest against the evictions in the city at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But following the evening meal that breaks the Ramadan fast, clashes broke out at Al Aqsa with smaller scuffles near Sheikh Jarrah, which sits near the walled Old City's famous Damascus Gate.

Police used water cannon mounted on armoured vehicles to disperse several hundred protesters gathered near the homes of families facing potential eviction.

Palestinians react to stun grenades fired by Israeli police after clashes at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound. AP

"If we don't stand with this group of people here, (evictions) will (come) to my house, her house, his house and to every Palestinian who lives here," said protester Bashar Mahmoud, 23, from the nearby Palestinian neighbourhood of Issawiya.

'CALM DOWN AND BE QUIET!'

An Aqsa official appealed for calm on the compound through the mosque's loudspeakers. "Police must immediately stop firing stun grenades at worshippers, and the youth must calm down and be quiet!"

Israel's Supreme Court will hold a hearing on the Sheikh Jarrah evictions on Monday, the same day that Israel marks Jerusalem Day – its annual celebration of its capture of East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East war.

The Palestine Red Crescent ambulance service said 108 of the Palestinians injured were taken to hospital, with many hit with rubber-coated metal bullets.

One of the injured lost an eye, two suffered serious head wounds and two had their jaws fractured, the Red Crescent said. Most of the rest of the injuries were minor, it added.

Reuters