Clashes continue after Israel lifts prayer al-Aqsa restrictions

Israeli police on Friday lifted age restrictions on Palestinian worshippers attending prayers at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem in an apparent move to ease tensions at the site, but dozens of people were reported injured in fresh clashes and protests in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

“For the moment, no age limitations on worshippers’ entry,” said a police spokeswoman on Friday. Israel has for weeks restricted entry to al-Aqsa, the third holiest site in Islam, to men over 40.

However, police kept a heavy presence in the city, as Hamas earlier called for 'day of rage' protests across the West Bank after noon prayers. Protests were reported in multiple areas in Hebron and near the Israeli settlement of Bet Il just outside of Ramallah, with up to 90 people reported injured in the West Bank and Gaza by Israeli gunfire. 

Caption: Hebron now

Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, head of the Islamic Waqf which administers Al-Aqsa, said around 25,000 Muslims attended Friday prayers, while Israeli police estimated the crowd at 30,000, the AFP news agency reported.

"Of course it is better but there are still checkpoints and searches. There is still no respect," said Wissam Abu Madi, 20, who said he believed a wave of attacks on Israelis would continue.

"Everyone is scared that if you get searched and (they think) you make a wrong move, you will get shot. It is a terrible situation."

A protest also took place at the Nusairat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip with local emergency services reporting 65 people injured by metallic and rubber bullets near the northern entrance to Bethlehem.

Security forces were deployed close to the Bethlehem checkpoint, which is closed for three days because of a Jewish holiday during which thousands of Jewish Israelis are expected to visit Rachel's tomb, located near the separation wall where clashes typically take place.

According to the Ministry of Health, dozens of people across the West Bank were injured, with the majority suffering from tear gas inhalation. Six people, including a child, were shot in Hebron, with four of the injured shot at by Israeli forces with live ammunition at their lower extremities, while the other two suffered head wounds from rubber coated steel bullets.

Video: Protest organised by Hamas in the Ras al-Houra area in Hebron

At least 49 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces this month, including protesters and attackers who have stabbed eight Israelis to death, as violence over the Israeli occupation spiralled.

In the latest attack, the Israeli army said a 17-year-old named Mussab Ghanimat stabbed an Israeli soldier near the Israeli settlement of Gush Etzion, south of Bethlehem, before being shot and injured. The teenager, from the nearby village of Sureif, was said by the Israeli army to be in a stable condition. The soldier was stabbed in the shoulder.

Later, an Israeli settler ran over Taye' Taqayqah, 40, in the village of Imm Salouma south of Bethlehem. The settler escaped in his car, while Taqayqah, who was riding a motorcycle, was moderately injured.

Two other Palestinians from Sureif were shot in Beit Shemesh, 30km west of Jerusalem, on Thursday evening after allegedly stabbing an Israeli man. One of the Palestinians, Mahmoud Ghneimat, died at the scene. The other man, Miqdad al-Heeh, was critically injured. The Israeli man suffered moderate injuries to his upper body.

Caption: Ongoing confrontations between Palestinian youth and the Israeli occupation north Al-Bireh city near the Bet Il settlement

According to prisoner rights group Addameer, more than 870 Palestinians have been arrested by Israel since the beginning of October: more than 500 arrested in the occupied West Bank, 213 in Jerusalem, and 152 in Israel. 

The total includes more than 130 children, the group said.