JERUSALEM: Tensions escalated today in occupied Jerusalem as Israeli occupation forces clamped down on worshipers and attacked them with teargas in the vicinity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, leaving scores of them suffering from tear gas inhalation.

The confrontations occurred in the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood, adjacent to the holy site, as worshipers gathered for Friday prayers, unable to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque for the 11th consecutive week due to restrictions imposed by Israeli occupation forces.

The forces fired rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters and doused the crowd with contaminated water to disperse them, causing many cases of suffocation from teargas inhalation, according to local sources.

The use of force extended to journalists covering the event, with Israeli occupation forces assaulting and expelling them from the scene.

Due to stringent military measures imposed by Israeli authorities, only 12,000 worshipers managed to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This included the closure of mo
sque doors and the prohibition of entry for those residing outside the Old City of Jerusalem, regardless of whether they hailed from the 1948 territories or the surrounding neighborhoods of Jerusalem.

It is worth noting that calls from Jerusalem activists to rally and pray at Al-Aqsa persist amid an Israeli campaign of colonization and intense efforts to alter the historical and religious status of the holy site.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA