Israeli police clash with Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem Middle East News

Israeli police and Palestinians clashed in front of the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City from night to Sunday as tensions erupted during the holy month of Ramadan.

Hundreds of police officers rioted around the Old City after the nightly riots erupted in the Gaza Strip and occupied the West Bank. Some Palestinians threw stones and bottles at police as they dispersed people on horseback, although the violence appeared less than on previous nights.

Protests spread to several cities on the West Bank and Israel-Gaza border. The Israeli army said it had dispersed hundreds of Palestinians, some throwing rocks and burning tires.

There have been nightmares since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on April 13, with Palestinian anger over police blocking access to the promenade near the walls of the Old Town and banning gatherings.

A series of videos posted online have shown young Arabs attacking ultra-Orthodox Jews and taking hard-working Jews out into the streets to harass Arabs on the streets.

The march to the heart of East Arab Jerusalem, led by hundreds of right-wing Jewish nationalist group Lehava, added fuel to the fire.

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion told public radio that he was in talks with leaders of the Palestinian community in East Jerusalem to “end this senseless violence” and tried to stop the far-right march on Thursday.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s office condemned “the growing push by far-right Israeli settler groups advocating the killing of Arabs.”

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi condemned the “racist attacks” by Israelis on Palestinians in East Jerusalem, and called for “international actions to protect them”.

“Jerusalem is a red line and the touch is playing with fire,” he warned.