Israeli Police Attack Palestinians Celebrating Isra Wal Miraj in Jerusalem

Palestinians celebrating Isra Wal Miraj at Bab al-Aomud (Wafa)
Palestinians celebrating Isra Wal Miraj at Bab al-Aomud (Wafa)
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Israeli Police Attack Palestinians Celebrating Isra Wal Miraj in Jerusalem

Palestinians celebrating Isra Wal Miraj at Bab al-Aomud (Wafa)
Palestinians celebrating Isra Wal Miraj at Bab al-Aomud (Wafa)

Israeli police attacked Palestinians at Bab al-Amoud in Jerusalem who were celebrating al-Isra Wal Miraj Muslim holiday, a religious festival marking Prophet Mohammad's journey to the heavens.

Tensions grew in the city as more people arrived at al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Israeli police assaulted and clashed with the Palestinians before bringing a sewage water vehicle to disperse the protesters.

Dozens of Palestinians were injured and others were detained. Sources in Jerusalem said the occupation forces arrested at least four civilians, including a child, after assaulting them.

Clashes also erupted in other areas in the Old City as the number of Palestinians arriving at the Mosque to celebrate the occasion increased, including Jerusalemites and residents from the West Bank.

Thousands of Palestinians performed the noon prayer at al-Aqsa Mosque and participated in religious celebrations.

Meanwhile, the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood is witnessing tensions for the second week after far-right Knesset member Itamar Ben Gvir stormed the area and established a makeshift office on the land of Salem's family.

Ben Gvir insists on staying in the neighborhood, despite the tensions that led to widespread confrontations and warnings of Israeli officials that it might escalate the situation in the West Bank and break the calm in the Gaza Strip, as happened last year before the 11-day Gaza war.

The confrontations in Bab al-Amoud raise doubts about an Israeli decision to reduce tensions in the region before Ramadan, which this year falls at the beginning of April.

The Israeli authorities had decided to forgo the iron barriers at the Bab al-Amoud area this year during Ramadan month. It will instead allow cultural activities, including opening Ramadan tents and kiosks selling food and sweets, to maintain calm.

However, the Palestinians' first celebration in the region held after the decision was met with police violence.



Gaza Rescuers Say 72 Killed by Israeli Fire

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Gaza Rescuers Say 72 Killed by Israeli Fire

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli fire killed at least 72 people in the Palestinian territory on Thursday, including 21 who had gathered to receive aid in central and southern Gaza.

Updating an earlier figure, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the death toll had risen to 72, "due to the ongoing Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip since dawn today -- 21 of them were waiting for aid.”

The Israeli army told AFP that troops had fired "warning shots" at "suspects" approaching them in the Netzarim area where the civil defense agency said 15 people were killed waiting for aid, but that it was "not aware of any injured individuals.”