For the third night in a row, Israeli occupation troops targeted Palestinians gathered at Bab al-Amoud, also known as Damascus Gate, one of the main gateways of al-Quds’ Old City, to commemorate the start of Ramadan, the holy fasting month.
Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and sound bombs to disperse Palestinians who had gathered for Iftar, a meal given at the end of a fasting day during Ramadan, near Bab al-Amoud on Monday night, according to the Palestinian Ma’an news agency.
According to witnesses, at least six Palestinian youths were arrested during the skirmishes, three of them were brought into custody and severely beaten by undercover Israeli soldiers.
According to Palestinian media, the occupying regime has turned the Bab al-Amoud into a military barracks since the beginning of Ramadan by deploying a huge number of its personnel in the region.
After detaining ten Palestinians and injuring 20 others in the same neighbourhood on Sunday, the current rioting erupted.
The incidents began after Israeli police increased their presence near Bab al-Amoud and erected barriers on both sides of the road since the first day of Ramadan, according to Palestine’s official Wafa news agency.
“Police beat up and detained some 10 Palestinians as they attacked the youths to force them to leave the area, including an elderly man who sustained a head injury after being beaten up by the police,” the agency said.
According to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, at least 19 Palestinians were hurt, with four of them being sent to hospitals and the rest being treated on the spot.
Hamas: The Bab al-Amud excursion by Lapid is described as a “dangerous escalation.”
The rise of hostilities coincided with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s provocative visit to Bab al-Amoud in al-Quds’ Old City, which was branded by Hamas as a “dangerous escalation” by the Palestinian resistance movement.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Hamas spokesperson Mohamed Hamada claimed Lapid’s visit of Bab al-Amud and the violent police raid in the same area demonstrated Israel’s determination to carry out harmful plots against the occupied al-Quds and the holy al-Aqsa Mosque.
“A provocation to the sensibilities of the Palestinian people and the Muslim country during the holy month of Ramadan,” Hamada said of Lapid’s action.
In recent weeks, Palestinians have increased their retaliation attacks against Israeli soldiers, carrying out a series of operations that have resulted in the deaths of at least 11 Israelis since March 22. During the same time period, eight Palestinians were slain.
Diaa Hamarsheh, a Palestinian, killed five Israelis, including a police officer, before being shot dead in the ultra-orthodox village of Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv, last week.
The operation took place just days after two Palestinian militants shot and killed two Israeli soldiers and injured four others in a shooting attack in Hadera, northern Israel.
(With inputs from Press TV)
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