On 15 April 2022, clashes erupted between Palestinians and Israeli Security Forces on the Al-Aqsa Compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. According to the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, the clashes began when Palestinians threw stones, firecrackers, and other heavy objects at Israeli police officers. The policemen used tear gas shells, stun grenades and police batons against the Palestinians. Some Palestinians afterwards barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque and proceeded to throw stones at the officers. In response, police raided the mosque, arresting those who had barricaded themselves inside. In addition, some damage was done to the mosque's structure.
Over the course of the clashes, around 160 Palestinians were injured, including a Waqf guard shot in the eye with a rubber bullet, 4 women, 27 children, and one journalist. Approximately 400 people were arrested; the majority of them were released later that day. Three Israeli police officers were also wounded. Concerns were raised about possible excessive use of force by Israeli forces.
The break-in into the mosque caused a stir among the Palestinian public, and many reactions among the international community. The clashes were reported in the Arabic-speaking media as a storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, while Israeli authorities and media often use the term riots to refer to these events.
Additional skirmishes, though more restricted, occurred in the days that followed at the Holy Sites and in and around the Old City.
Background
On 14 April, Al-Jazeera reported an increased likelihood of another Israeli-Palestinian confrontation due to increasing tensions in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. In March and April 2022, Palestinians and Israeli Arabs carried out a series of violent attacks that led to the death of 17 Israelis, making it the deadliest period since 2006. A United Nations agency estimated Israeli forces have killed at least 40 Palestinians since February, when tensions started to rise.
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is one of the most contested religious sites in the world. It is considered the holiest site in Judaism, as it was the location of two Jewish temples in antiquity. For Muslims, the Mount is the site of the third sacred mosque in Islam, the Al-Aqsa Mosque. While the site has been controlled by Israel since 1967, it is administered by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf under the custodianship of Jordan. Some Palestinians believe that Israel is trying to change the status quo in various ways, for example, by allowing Jews to pray in the Temple Mount. For them, Israel has broken a decades-old understanding that allowed Jews to visit but not worship there.
Shortly before the incident, a Jewish extremist religious group called Returning to the Mount announced that it intended to perform Passover sacrifices on the Temple Mount during the Jewish holiday of Passover. On 14 April six members were arrested planning to sacrifice a goat on the Temple Mount. Rumours had been circulating on social media that Jewish hard-liners were planning to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the weekend.
During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan the year before, nighttime demonstrations about evictions in Jerusalem and raids at the Al-Aqsa compound led, four days later, to an 11-day confrontation between Israel and Gaza.
Events
According to the Israeli police, Palestinian protesters began marching at around 4:00 AM with Palestinian and Hamas flags in the location around the mosque. Police statements indicate that the protests turned violent as demonstrators threw rocks at the Western Wall and lit firecrackers, which police responded to by using tear gas and stun grenades against the crowd. The protesters are then said to have attacked police officers with stones, injuring three. The fighting was reported to have occurred near the Lions' Gate.
Al Jazeera reported that "a number of occupation soldiers climbed on the roofs of buildings surrounding Al-Aqsa Mosque. They evacuated the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque and closed most of the doors leading to it". According to Ynet and Reuters news, "Police says forces entered the compound after the Ramadan morning prayer to break up a violent crowd that started rioting at the holy site and threw stones toward the nearby Jewish prayer space of the Western Wall; Police adds 3 officers lightly injured, as were 59 rioters."