UN chief urges Israel to respect right to freedom of peaceful gathering

In a statement, UN Secretary-General Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that all leaders have a responsibility to act against extremists and to speak out against all acts of violence and incitement

He thought the UN Secretary-General has reiterated his commitment, including through the Middle East Quartet, to support Palestinians and Israelis to resolve the conflict based on relevant United Nations resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements

More than 200 Palestinians and 17 officers suffered injuries in the night-time clashes at Islam’s third-holiest site and around East Jerusalem.

Most were injured at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, where Israeli police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse protestors as Palestinians retaliated by throwing stones and bottles.

The footages released from the site shows worshippers throwing chairs, shoes and rocks towards the police and officers opening fire. Israeli police also shut down the gates leading to Al-Aqsa inside the walled Old City.

The Palestine Red Crescent ambulance service said one of the injured lost an eye, two suffered serious head wounds, and two had their jaws fractured. Most were wounded in the face and eyes by rubber-coated rounds and shrapnel from stun grenades.

An Al-Aqsa official appealed to everyone to restraint calm on the compound through the mosque’s loudspeakers. “Police must immediately stop firing stun grenades at worshippers, and the youth must calm down and be quiet.”

Tens of thousands of Palestinian worshippers earlier packed into the mosque on the final Friday of Ramadan and many stayed on to protest in support of Palestinians facing eviction from their homes on Israeli-occupied land claimed by Jewish settlers.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has held Israel responsible for the dangerous developments and sinful attacks taking place in the holy city and called on the United Nations (UN) Security Council to hold an urgent session on the issue.

The international community has expressed concern and appealed for de-escalation on Friday, as anger mounted over the threatened eviction of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem's Shaikh Jarrah district.

A US State Department spokeswoman said Washington was "deeply concerned about the heightened tensions".

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Vennesland, urged all parties to "respect the status quo of holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City in the interest of peace & stability."

The UN has said Israel should call off any evictions and employ "maximum restraint in the use of force" against protesters.