Israeli security forces have entered Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem amid fresh clashes in the area.
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The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 22 people were wounded in the clashes, with three requiring treatment in hospital after being hit by rubber bullets.
Speaking to a meeting for the UN Council for Human Rights, Kuwait’s Permanent envoy to the United Nations headquarters to Geneva Ambassador Jamal Al-Ghunaim said that the continuous Israeli violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque and the attempts to hinder Palestinian presence at the Islamic shrine, was a clear violation of human rights.
In recent days, Israel has barred Jewish visits to the compound and lifted all restrictions on Muslim worshipers to ease tension because of the current Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.
Police have said in a statement they entered the mosque after worshipers were accused of planning for violence by stockpiling stones.
The Jewish Sukkot holiday that begins on Sunday night is expected to lead to an increase in the number of Jewish visitors to the Al-Aqsa compound over the coming days, potentially adding to the volatility.
A lawyer of the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club (PPC) Sunday said that efforts are underway to ensure the release of a Palestinian minor, who was shot and detained by Israeli forces at the entrance of Bethlehem, given the seriousness of his health condition.
Palestinians say in the last two months there has been a new development where Israel has intermittently restricted some Muslims from the compound when Jews visit.
It turned out would-be Palestinian attackers had barricaded themselves in the Al-Aqsa Mosque with a stockpile of rocks, firecrackers, and pipe bombs.
The Palestinian Presidency denied on Sunday reports that the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry opposed a meeting between the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Israel upholds the status quo on the Temple Mount”.
In one incident, an Israeli motorist was killed over the New Year holiday after his vehicle was pelted with stones.
The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement, a small group that seeks the construction of a new Jewish temple on the site, has called for a march to the compound on Wednesday Israeli police have promised to prevent them from getting close to the site.
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Israel seized east Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the global community.
