Israeli police attack worshippers in Ramzan during Al-Aqsa Mosque raid

Israeli police have attacked and arrested Palestinian worshippers in a violent raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Ramzan.

In a statement, police said they had “arrested and removed over 350 individuals that violently barricaded” themselves inside the mosque in the Old City of annexed East Jerusalem.

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, injuries were reported as a result of the raid but it was not clear how many were hurt. It was also said that medics were prevented from reaching the mosque by the Israeli forces. 

“I was sitting on a chair reciting (Qur’an),” an elderly woman told Reuters while sitting outside the mosque. “They hurled stun grenades, one of them hit my chest,” she said as she began to cry.

The Israeli police claimed in a statement that they had to enter the mosque after “masked agitators” locked themselves inside with fireworks, sticks and stones.

“When the police entered, stones were thrown at them and fireworks were fired from inside the mosque by a large group of agitators,” the statement said, adding that one of the police officers was wounded in the leg.