Hundreds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli police at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday night during protests against Israeli restrictions in the area, leading to three arrests.
Israeli police deployed water cannons, stun grenades and mounted officers came out of the area in an attempt to disperse the crowd. Three Palestinians were arrested, with Israeli police accusing them of attacking officers on the spot.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, four Palestinians were injured during the clashes and received medical treatment.
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Police on Sunday evening claimed that Palestinians threw stones at officers. A reporter on the spot for the Israeli daily Haaretz disputed the report, testifying that no stones were thrown and that “most protesters remained nonviolent.”
The nightly clashes between Palestinians and police broke out near the Damascus Gate since the beginning of Ramadan last Tuesday. Palestinians in East Jerusalem threw stones at buses and opened fire on police, according to Israeli police. At least one officer was slightly injured in the collision.
Police officers stand guard during clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police in front of the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on April 18, 2021. Clashes erupted after Israeli police put up barriers preventing people from standing on the market stairs in front of the gate. Photo by Yonatan Sindel / Flash90
A handful of Palestinians in East Jerusalem have released videos in which they can be seen striking seemingly uninvolved ultra-Orthodox and religious Jewish passers-by. The videos, uploaded on the Tiktok social network, evoked widespread condemnation by both Jewish and Arab deputies.
The Islamic holy moon, which often sees mass gatherings at night, has often been a hotbed for violence between young Palestinians and Israeli security forces.
The clashes appear to have been triggered by a decision by Jerusalem police to prevent Palestinians from standing on the steps of the Damascus Gate. In an unofficial Jerusalem tradition, thousands of Palestinians often stay in the area after night prayers during Ramadan.
Israeli police deploy water cannons and anti-riot police during clashes with Palestinians near the Damascus Gate on Sunday, April 18, 2021 (Screenshot: Twitter)
This year, however, police set up blocks in the area to direct believers out of the area and banned Palestinians from staying on the stairs at night.
In a phone call with The Times of Israel, a spokesman for the Jerusalem Police claimed that the granting of the area was in fact intended as a means of controlling the riots.
“It simply came to our notice then. Now, they only use barriers as an excuse. So if there were no barriers, what would we have then? Said the spokesman.
On Sunday evening, they saw dozens of outraged Israeli policemen fleeing the main art near the Damascus Gate, flanked by mounted policemen and water cannons.
Riders, a machete and gas grenades to disperse the crowd. But without too much mess that preceded it. pic.twitter.com/k1ebSQa9Kd
Nir Hasson Nir Hasson (@nirhasson) April 18, 2021
Some initial reports in the Palestinian press said that young Palestinians facing police were worshipers returning from the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Both officials of the Waqf, which administers the Islamic holy site, and a spokesman for the Jerusalem police rejected the request.
The police responded forcefully to the crowds. In a video widely shared on social media, an officer can be seen brutally hitting a submissive Palestinian in the head, apparently without being provoked.
Police violence: A few days ago, a police officer beat up a Palestinian detainee in East Jerusalem and then he and his upstairs police colleagues knocked the detainee down and beat him and kicked him. Police ban gatherings at Bab al-‘Amud, as is customary during Ramadan. pic.twitter.com/OIS4jKe5Mm
– Ahmad Tibi (@Ahmad_tibi) April 18, 2021
The Police Internal Investigation Division of the Ministry of Justice – the body responsible for overseeing police misconduct – announced on Sunday that it would open an investigation into the incident.
At around midnight on Sunday, the directors of religious Zionism Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich arrived at the Damascus Gate to talk to the police.
“This arrogance, this audacity, cannot simply be ignored. We are in a sovereign Jewish state, “Smotrich told reporters on the spot.
In a video on stage, far-right Jewish activists on stage can be seen dancing in a circle, singing a song calling for revenge against the Palestinians.
Police officers stand guard during clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police in front of the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on April 18, 2021. Clashes erupted after Israeli police put up barriers preventing people from standing on the market stairs in front of the gate. Photo by Yonatan Sindel / Flash90
In a confrontation in the Sheikh Jarrah district of East Jerusalem on Friday, a right-wing activist on the spot challenged Israeli Arab parliamentarian Ahmad Tibi to condemn the apparent attacks on ultra-Orthodox spectators.
Tibi did so and added that violence against Palestinians in East Jerusalem should also be condemned. “We must eradicate all nationalist violence,” he said.
