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<h1 class="article-title">Israeli Troops Attack Friday Prayers at
al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Wounding 110</h1>
<div class="article-subtitledetails">
<span class="article-details">
<span class="article-detail"><img class="icon"
src="cid:part1.04010701.09010305@freedomarchives.org"
alt="author"> Saturday July 19, 2014 02:20</span><span
class="article-detail"><img class="icon"
src="cid:part2.04060802.03010801@freedomarchives.org"
alt="author"> by <a style=""
href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ih/9781156469613"
class="skimwords-link" target="_blank" data-skimwords-id="1"
data-skimlinks-editor="0"
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data-skim-creative="300004" data-skim-product="1"
title="Shopping link added by SkimWords" occurrence="1"
data-skim-node-id="30:byCelineHagbard-IMEM_1">Celine Hagbard</a><span
style="position: absolute;"></span><span style="position:
absolute;"></span> <br>
</span></span><b><small><small><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.imemc.org/article/68531">http://www.imemc.org/article/68531</a></small></small></b><br>
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<blockquote class="article-intro">110 Palestinians, including a
number of elderly men and women, were treated for injuries after
Israeli troops attacked worshipers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in
Jerusalem. The wounded include two Directors of the Board for
Islamic Endowments, several journalists, and paramedics who
arrived on the scene to treat the wounded.</blockquote>
The Friday noon prayer was underway when Israeli forces raided the
Mosque compound, firing rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades
and tear gas. Palestinian youth responded by throwing stones.
Israeli troops then attempted to force all of the worshipers out of
the Mosque compound.<br>
<br>
Al-Aqsa mosque is considered the third holiest site in Islam. Access
to the Muslim holy site is controlled by Israeli soldiers, who
frequently close off access to the mosque for the thousands of
Muslim worshipers who come every Friday to attend the weekly midday
prayers.<br>
<br>
For the past three weeks, Israeli troops have prevented anyone under
age fifty from attending prayer services at al-Aqsa mosque – this
coincides with three of the four Fridays in Ramadan, an important
month in Muslim holy year marked by prayers, fasting and nighttime
gatherings.<br>
<br>
For the past three Fridays, worshipers excluded from the mosque have
held Friday prayer services on the street outside the mosque. This
week, the worshipers were attacked by police.<br>
<br>
Among the Palestinians injured in the attack were the Director of
the al-Aqsa Foundation, which oversees the mosque, Omar al-Kiswani,
who was shot with a rubber-coated steel bullet in the foot, and
Adnan al-Husseini, the Jerusalem Minister for the Palestinian
Authority, who was shot with a rubber-coated steel bullet in the
leg.<br>
<br>
In addition, two Board Members for the al-Aqsa Foundation,
Abdulatheem Salhab and Fayez an-Obaidi, were both shot with
rubber-coated steel bullets in the chest.<br>
<br>
110 Palestinians were treated at al-Aqsa clinic on site, and around
15 were transferred to local hospitals. Injuries included cuts,
bruises, fractures and concussions. One Palestinian man suffered
from bruised ribs and a punctured lung from being hit at close
range, in the chest, by one of the so-called ‘non-lethal’ bullets. <br>
<br>
Several elderly Palestinians required hospitalization, including an
elderly man who was hit with a concussion grenade in the forehead,
and one who was hit with shrapnel from a concussion grenade in his
chest.<br>
<br>
A spokesperson for the Israeli police said that police fired at
“masked Arab rioters who were throwing stones at the police”, but
eyewitnesses contest that account of events.
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