大象传媒

Israeli police have clashed with Palestinian worshippers at al-Aqsa mosque in occupied East Jerusalem. Police said 350 people were arrested in a pre-dawn raid after what they called "agitators" with fireworks, sticks and stones shut themselves inside.

Palestinians said stun grenades and rubber bullets were used to clear out the group and that 14 people were hurt. Militants in the Gaza Strip later fired rockets at Israel and its military carried out air strikes in response.

With the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ongoing, and the Jewish Passover also about to begin, an escalation in tensions around the site of the al-Aqsa mosque has prompted fears of a wider conflagration. The mosque has been the site of similar violence before - in 2021 violent clashes ignited a 10-day war between Israel's military and Palestinian resistance fighters in the heavily blockaded Gaza strip.

Newsday heard from the 大象传媒's correspondent Lucy Williamson, who said the situation was combustible.

"You have an extremist fringe Jewish group which has been trying to smuggle a goat up to the holy site to slaughter it for Passover, which inflames tensions. On the other hand, Palestinian militant groups have been calling for people to turn out to protect the sites... there's concern these two holidays coinciding could increase the tensions further."

(Photo shows: A Palestinian woman sits near Israeli border policemen in the al-Aqsa compound Credit: Reuters)

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