Violence broke out in Jerusalem once again late Sunday night as young Arabs began throwing bottles and rocks at police by the Damascus Gate, KAN reported. Some 12 suspects were arrested overnight for causing disturbances, violence and attacking police officers.
אחרי הסרת המחסומים: צעירים משליכים בקבוקים לעבר שוטרים בשער שכם@VeredPelman pic.twitter.com/SoqTZzmHX5
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 25, 2021
This immediately followed the removal of barricades around the Damascus Gate to the Old City, which the Palestinians claimed had been one of the catalysts for the recent series of riots and violent clashes in the city over the past week.
Hundreds of Arab youth converged on the area after the barricades were removed, chanting: "With blood and fire we will liberate you, Palestine," before throwing bottles.
Police soon began dispersing people from the Damascus Gate plaza following the violence, according to KAN.
לילה נוסף של מתיחות בירושלים: המשטרה החלה בפינוי ההמונים מרחבת שער שכם@VeredPelman pic.twitter.com/mcoUpAu5Jx
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 25, 2021
The barricades had been placed last week outside the gate to stop young east Jerusalem Arabs from congregating there and instigating violence against police and Jewish passersby.Police later arrested two residents of east Jerusalem by the Jaffa Gate to the Old City under suspicion of having attempted to steal a weapon from police, Israeli media reported.
Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich criticized the removal of the barricades, saying that it was "succumbing to terror" and could end up encouraging further violence.
"Israel shows weakness too often and succumbs to terror and violence, only to suffer twice as much," he said in a statement. "Whoever runs from terror will be pursued by terror. These are the rules of the game in the Middle East."
Smotrich added that the violence in Jerusalem needed to be stopped and the law upheld, and those behind the violence should be met "with the utmost severity."Clashes have also sparked in recent days by members of Israel's far Right, notably by Lahava, an organization considered to be extremist and following in the footsteps of the radical leader of the banned Kach Party, Meir Kahane. The UAE Foreign Ministry expressed concern over the violence in east Jerusalem, specifically from groups on Israel's far Right.The ministry called on Israel to take responsibility for curbing the ongoing escalation and to take all measures to stop tensions from rising any further.It added that it was essential to maintain "the historic identity of occupied Jerusalem" and that "maximum restraint must be used to keep the region from descending into instability."The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued further condemnation of Israel for violence against the residents of east Jerusalem, and praised those currently resisting the "Zionist regime," according to Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency.
Khaled Abu Toameh contributed to this report.