Israeli forces arrest 17 Palestinians in East Jerusalem

JERUSALEM

At least 17 Palestinians were arrested by Israeli police in occupied East Jerusalem Friday after waving flags and banners of Palestinian groups.

In a statement, Israeli police said 17 Palestinians had been detained in Jerusalem’s Old City over unfurling flags of hostile Palestinian organizations and chanting inciting slogans.

Legal action against the detained Palestinians has been launched.

Earlier in the day, nearly a quarter-million Palestinians performed the fourth Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, according to a statement by the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem.

Around 2,000 Israeli police personnel were deployed in East Jerusalem and its Old City area, according to the Israeli statement.

Tensions escalated across Palestinian territories earlier this month after Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in East Jerusalem and forcibly removed worshipers.

The Israeli raids on the mosque triggered rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, with Israel retaliating with airstrikes.

Palestinians accuse Israel of systematically working to Judaize East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, and obliterate its Arab and Islamic identity.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third-holiest site. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two ancient Jewish temples.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. In 1980 it annexed the entire city, in a move never recognized by the international community.