At least 90 more Palestinians wounded amid continued Israeli brutality

Jerusalem, May 9 (RHC)-- As many as 90 more Palestinians are wounded on the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and elsewhere in the occupied Holy City of Jerusalem al-Quds as the Israeli regime sustains its brutal attacks against the Palestinians there.

The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service updated the figure early Sunday, saying the casualties included 23, who had been hospitalized, Reuters reported.  According to the news service, some 205 Palestinians had been wounded on Friday after Israeli forces attacked hundreds of Palestinians worshipers on the compound with rubber bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades. Dozens were likewise taken to the hospital after the aggression, including some who had ended up in a serious condition.

The center has said most of those, who have been injured during the two days of clashes, have been targeted in the eye and the face.

Since the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, the Israeli forces and illegal settlers have been roaming the city, chanting anti-Palestinian slogans and trying to prevent Palestinians from gathering and performing their religious duties. Early in the month, the Israeli regime also shut down Bab al-Amoud (Damascus Gate) of the al-Quds' Old City, further enraging Palestinians.

The provocations took a still dangerous turn after the forces attacked Palestinian homes in East al-Quds’ Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.  The aggressors were trying to prompt the Palestinians to abandon their residences there. The regime had earlier issued them warnings that they had to evacuate their homes.

Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Political Bureau of the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, warned the regime’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to “play with fire.”   “We will defend the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood with all that we have at our disposal, and the Zionist enemy will be the loser of this battle,” he said.

Simultaneously, Palestinian media outlets reported a couple of rocket attacks from the direction of Gaza towards the occupied territories as well as Israeli ground and aerial assaults on the Tel Aviv-blockaded strip.

The Palestinian Ma’an news agency, meanwhile, cited Israel's Walla news site as reporting that given the extent of the tensions that the Israeli actions have led to, the regime was seeking out potential suspension of its plans for Sheikh Jarrah.

The report came after former Israeli premier Ehud Olmert warned about the prospect of a third Palestinian Intifada (Uprising), citing the enormity of the Israeli-triggered situation.  However, the Israeli army has, at the same time, asked the air force to “update” its data bank of Gaza-based targets, the website said. The Israeli military is also slated to increase the number of the drones it sends to Gaza to confront the protests there and add to the number of the forces, including sharpshooters, that it stations on the territory’s border.