People who are not Muslims are no longer allowed to enter Al Aqsa Mosque until the end of Ramadan. This was decided by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday in response to the increasing violence in the country.
The mosque in Jerusalem is crowded every day. Not only prayed for by Muslims, but also by Jewish visitors and tourists. The latter is no longer allowed until the end of the month of fasting.
Netanyahu’s decision follows a series of attacks on Al Aqsa Mosque. For example, the Israeli police raided the mosque last week. Several people were injured and about 350 people were arrested.
Palestinians reacted to the mosque raid
After the invasion, several attacks took place on Israel, including from Gaza. It was a Palestinian response. For example, a car recently drove into tourists in the Israeli port of Tel Aviv. One person was killed and several were injured.
A mother and her daughters also died after a shooting on Friday in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israel responded with several counter-attacks. Soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians on Tuesday. According to the Defense Ministry, they had opened fire on a military post near a Jewish village in the occupied West Bank. The operation prevented “an attack on Israeli civilians,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement.
Protests have been going on in the country for months. On Saturday, tens of thousands of demonstrators again took to the streets to protest against the legal reforms that the right-wing government wants to implement.
The protests are taking place in response to the increasing violence between Israel and the Palestinians. Some 250 Palestinians and 43 Israelis have been killed in the past year.
