Israeli forces injured and arrested dozens of Palestinians over the weekend in occupied East Jerusalem, as Muslims marked the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.
According to Palestinian news outlets, Israeli forces arrested at least 13 Palestinians and injured close to 20 more on Sunday outside the Damascus Gate area of the Old City in East Jerusalem.
Israeli police violently dispersed crowds of Palestinians in the area, beating several people with batons and using rubber-coated steel bullets and stun grenades against bystanders.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 19 Palestinians were injured, four of whom were rushed to the hospital.
Videos circulated on social media of Israeli police, both uniformed and plain clothed officers, violently beating and arresting Palestinian youth. One video purported to show police attacking an older Palestinian man as he protested the arrest of his son.
Hours before the crackdown, Israeli foreign Minister Yair Lapid toured the Old City under heavy police guard, in what Palestinian factions decried as a “provocative visit.”
On Saturday, Israeli forces arrested at least four more Palestinians, on accusations of “rioting and attacking officers,” Middle East Eye reported.
Tensions in and around the Old City are likely to continue to rise in the coming weeks, amid expectations that groups of Israeli settlers will conduct police-escorted visits to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for upcoming Jewish holidays.
Damascus Gate is the main entrance to the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, and is a popular gathering place for Palestinians from the city, particularly during the month of Ramadan. The area is the frequent site of Israeli police violence against Palestinians, as Israeli forces maintain a permanent security outpost near the Gate.
Last year, Israeli police violence against Palestinians at Damascus Gate throughout Ramadan, and the subsequent attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, was the primary driver of Palestinian protests that swelled into the May 2021 uprisings.
The crackdown over the weekend comes on the heels of a week of violent tensions in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
On Saturday before dawn, Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinians during what locals called an “ambush” in Jenin city in the northern West Bank. A few days prior, on Thursday, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians, including one teenager, and injured 14 others during a raid on the Jenin refugee camp.
The recent deadly raids came after a number of attacks in Israel, during which 11 Israelis and four Palestinians were killed.
On March 29th, a young Palestinian man from the West Bank was killed after he opened fire in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak, killing five Israelis. On the same day, another Palestinian was shot and killed on a bus in the West Bank after reportedly stabbing and injuring an Israeli settler, according to Haaretz.
On March 27th, two Palestinians were killed after they opened fire and killed two Israeli police officers in the Israeli city of Hadera. Another Palestinian man was fatally shot on March 22nd after stabbing and killing four people in the city of Beer al-Sabe (Be’er Sheva) in the Naqab region of southern Israel.
