JAKARTA - Ramadan in East Jerusalem does not feel peaceful for Palestinians. The Israeli Supreme Court decision regarding the eviction of several houses in East Jerusalem sparked clashes at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound.
Hundreds of Israeli police clashed with thousands of Palestinian youths at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Friday, May 7. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were seen thronging the hills surrounding the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in the early hours of Friday to carry out prayers.
Many of them remain in the compound to further attend rallies to protest the evictions in Jerusalem, the city at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli police forces reportedly fired rubber bullets and stun grenades at Palestinian youths who threw stones at officers.
The police also used water cannons mounted on a number of armored vehicles to disperse the crowds.
Tensions continue to escalate in Jerusalem and the West Bank during the month of Ramadan due to evictions by Israeli authorities in the region.
The United States to the United Nations (UN) called on all parties to exercise restraint. The European Union and Jordan even voiced vigilance and warnings over the possibility of illegal evictions carried out by Israel in the Palestinian territories.
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stressed that Israel was responsible for the clashes and tensions that occurred at the Al-Aqsa compound, the third holy site for Muslims.
France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain on Thursday, May 6, urged Israel to stop expanding settlement building in the West Bank. The joint statement comes as tensions rise in East Jerusalem ahead of the trial, which could see Palestinian families expelled from Sheikh Jarrah.
Sheikah Jarrah is an area where Jewish settlers - who are supported by Israeli courts - have taken over several homes.
"We urge the Israeli government to cancel its decision to continue building 540 settlement units in the Har Homa E area of the occupied West Bank, and to stop its policy of expanding settlements throughout the occupied Palestinian territories," the European countries were quoted as saying by ANTARA.
"If implemented, the decision to continue settlement building in Har Homa, which lies between East Jerusalem and Bethlehem, will cause further damage to the prospects for an independent Palestinian State," the European states stated.
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