For the second night in a row, violent clashes broke out on the Temple Mount on Wednesday, as worshipers barricaded themselves inside Al-Aqsa Mosque and police forces operated to evacuate them.
The worshipers shouted, “Al-Aqsa will be redeemed in spirit and blood”.
According to Palestinian Arab reports, at least 11 people were arrested. Footage posted online showed some of the worshipers fleeing the Temple Mount in large numbers.
The Israel Police commented on the clashes with worshipers and said that “dozens of law-breaking youths, some of them masked, brought fireworks and rocks into the mosque with the aim of disrupting the order in the place – while desecrating the mosque.”
The police further stated that “at a certain point they tried again to close the doors of the mosque and prevent the worshipers from leaving, with the aim of barricading themselves in the place. The police forces prevented the lawbreakers from closing the doors and barricading themselves, and helped the worshipers leave the mosque. In the meantime, the lawbreakers began shouting incitement, shooting fireworks, and throwing objects towards the police officers who were operating at the scene.”

At the same time, Arabs held demonstrations and marches in places including Umm El Fahm, Arraba and Haifa.
In Umm El Fahm, rocks were thrown at Highway 65. A police force was attacked and a policeman fired in the air in response.
Similar clashes erupted on Tuesday night, when police forces entered Al-Aqsa Mosque after worshipers barricaded themselves inside and refused to leave. Hundreds were arrested.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the previous night”s riots, noting that the rioters’ actions harmed Muslims who merely came to Mosque for Ramadan prayers and not to confront Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount.
“Muslim worshippers in Al-Aqsa Mosque are asserting that the Islamic extremists who barricaded themselves inside the mosque locked them in and prevented other Muslims from going to the Mosque to pray. They barricaded themselves with weaponry, rocks and fireworks,” said Netanyahu.
“Israel is committed to maintaining freedom of worship, free access for all faiths and the status quo on the Temple Mount, and will not allow violent extremists to change this,” the Prime Minister concluded.
(Israel National News’ North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Passover in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)