Over 100 hurt in Jerusalem clashes

JERUSALEM: Over 100 Palestinians and 20 Israeli police were wounded in overnight clashes in annexed east Jerusalem, authorities said Friday, as tensions mount over a ban on gatherings and videos of attacks on youths.

The violence flared outside one of the entrances to the walled Old City, after police had barred access to some areas where Palestinians usually gather in large numbers during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Tensions were fuelled by the arrival of far-right Jews at the end of a march during which they harassed Palestinians and chanted "death to Arabs".

There have been nightly disturbances in the area since the start of Ramadan on April 13, with Palestinians outraged over police blocking access to the promenade around the walls, a popular gathering place after the end of the daytime Ramadan fast.

Police said that after night prayers at Al-Aqsa mosque in the Old City "hundreds of rioters began disrupting the order violently, including throwing stones and objects at forces".

Stun grenades were fired and water cannon deployed to disperse the "rioters" and force them towards less central areas of east Jerusalem, police said.

Police said officers attempted to "distinguish between them and those who finished prayers" and were not involved in the events.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Friday it had treated at least 105 people, with about 20 of them hospitalised.

Israeli police said 20 officers were injured, three of whom were taken to hospital.

"It was like a war zone; it was dangerous," a Palestinian who was near the clashes outside the Old City told AFP. "That´s why I left the place."

Tensions have been high in Jerusalem after a series of videos posted online in recent days showing young Arabs attacking ultra-Orthodox Jews and Jewish extremists taking to the street to bully Arabs in nightly confrontations.

On Thursday night, the Israeli extreme right group Lehava organised a march ending opposite the Old City attended by hundreds to protest the anti-Jewish violence.

Police erected barriers to keep them from entering the mainly Arab location.

The Palestinian presidency condemned "the growing incitement by extremist far-right Israeli settler groups advocating for the killing of Arabs, which in recent days manifested in a wave of attacks against Palestinian civilians in the Old City". The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamist Hamas movement that rules the Gaza Strip, voiced support to east Jerusalem Palestinians.

"The spark you light today will be the wick of the explosion to come in the face of the enemy," it said in a statement. Jordan condemned the "provocations" carried out by the "extremist" Jewish groups, calling on Israel to prevent such incidents and lift restrictions on access to Al-Aqsa mosque. The UN envoy for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, called Thursday on "all sides" to "de-escalate tensions and maintain calm".

The US embassy in Israel said Friday it was "deeply concerned" about the Jerusalem violence, expressing hope for an "end to incitement" and "return to calm".

The European Union also called for "restraint".

Lebanon´s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said it was "in full solidarity with the Palestinian people". More than 50 people detained overnight were taken for a remand hearing on Friday morning, a statement from police said.