Esat Firat
18 July 2021•Update: 19 July 2021
JERUSALEM
Israeli police on Sunday attacked young Palestinians at the Damascus Gate, one of occupied East Jerusalem's Old City gates.
Young Palestinians gathered at the gate after more than 1,000 Israeli settlers forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex early Sunday, amid tension over a planned settler incursion into the flashpoint site.
Israeli police attacked Palestinians with sound bombs and rubber bullets.
The police beat some Palestinians and detained a few others.
Tensions still continue at the Damascus Gate.
Earlier Sunday, Israeli forces shut all entrances and gates to the Al-Aqsa complex.
Israeli settler groups have called on supporters to force their way into the Al-Aqsa complex in large numbers on Sunday to mark what they call the “destruction of the temple” in ancient times.
The so-called Sovereignty Movement in Israel is also preparing to organize a march for settlers around the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem on the same day.
On Saturday, hundreds of settlers staged a march in occupied East Jerusalem ahead of their planned incursions Sunday.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move never recognized by the international community.
*Writing by Busra Nur Cakmak in Ankara
