152 Palestinians injured in clashes with Israeli police in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque

Palestinian protesters retreat on April 15, 2022 amid tear gas during clashes with Israeli security forces after a demonstration against Jewish settlements and in support of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, on the main street of Beita village in the occupied West Bank. JAAFAR ASHTIYEH AFP JERUSALEM - At least 152 Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli riot police in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque on Friday, the latest outbreak in a recent upsurge of violence that has resulted in a slide back to wider conflict.

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Most of the Palestinian injuries were caused by rubber bullets, stun grenades and beatings with police batons, according to the Palestine Red Crescent, at the most sensitive site in the generations-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel has been on high alert after a series of deadly Arab street attacks across the country over the past two weeks. The risk of a broader conflagration like last year's Gaza war can be seen at the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem's walled Old City.

The Al-Aqsa compound is located above the Old City plateau of East Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in the Middle East war in 1967, and is known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, or The Noble Sanctuary, and to Jews as Temple Mount.

The Jewish celebration of Passover has led to increased tensions this year, which have been heightened by Ramadan.

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In a statement, Israeli police said hundreds of Palestinians hurled firecrackers and stones at their forces and toward the nearby Jewish prayer area of the Western Wall in the Old City after Ramadan morning prayers.

The police entered the Al-Aqsa compound to disperse and push back the crowd and allow the rest of the worshippers to leave the place safely, adding that three officers were injured in the clashes.

A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a tweet that the police arrested hundreds of Palestinians.

We are working to restore calm on the Temple Mount and across Israel. Bennett said that the security forces are ready for any task and that we are preparing for any scenario.

A Palestinian official told Reuters that Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations stepped up their mediation between Palestinian factions led by the Islamist group Hamas, which runs Gaza and Israel in a bid to prevent further escalation of violence.

Hamas demanded that Israel frees more than 500 people it had detained on Friday, stop provocative visits to Al-Aqsa mosque by Jewish groups and end military incursions into West Bank cities.

Israel released all but 100 of those detained in a sign of lowering tensions, Palestinians said.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it held Israel fully and directly responsible for the crime and its consequences, referring to the violence in the holy compound.