Palestinians rally against Israel’s attacks on Aqsa Mosque

On Friday, clashes broke out between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli troopers after the latter banned those under the age of 40 from accessing the sacred site. Israeli forces reportedly fired tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd.
 
Israeli forces had earlier beefed up their presence in al-Quds, deploying over 5,000 troopers to confront the worshipers. They had also closed roads in the Old City of al-Quds.
 
The heavy deployment came after Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas dubbed Friday a “day of rage” against Israel over its desecration of the al-Aqsa Mosque.
 
During the Friday clashes, several people sustained injuries when Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel bullets and hurled tear gas canisters at a group of Palestinian protesters in the southern West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron), located 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of al-Quds.
 
Scuffles were also reported in Abu Tor neighborhood of al-Quds. Palestinians also held a mass rally in the impoverished Gaza Strip in a show of solidarity with al-Quds protesters.
 
Early on Friday, Israeli soldiers shot and critically injured Ahmad Izzat Khatatbeh, 26, at a military checkpoint in eastern Nablus.
 
Additionally, Israeli soldiers shot and injured a 17-year-old Palestinian teenager, identified as Anas Muhammad Saleh, during clashes near the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem late on Thursday.
 
On Thursday, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), lashed out at the 15-member Security Council for its failure to condemn the ongoing Israeli aggression against Muslim worshipers at the al-Aqsa Mosque.
 
Israel has applied sweeping restrictions on entries into the al-Aqsa Mosque since August 26.
 
The al-Aqsa Mosque compound is Islam’s third holiest site after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina.