Israeli police run during clashes with Palestinians at the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City on May 7, 2021. (Reuters/Ammar Awad)
JERUSALEM: Israel said it was beefing up security forces on Saturday in anticipation of more confrontations with Palestinian protesters, a day after fierce clashes at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Tensions have mounted in the city, the occupied West Bank and Gaza throughout Ramadan, amid growing anger over the potential eviction of Palestinians from Jerusalem homes.
Thousands of Palestinians were expected to return to Al-Aqsa Mosque after dark fell for the sacred night of Laylat al-Qadr.
Television footage showed buses of Muslim worshippers from Israeli Arab cities being stopped by police on the main highway to Jerusalem.
Word of the roadblock spread on social media, drawing hundreds of young men from nearby Arab villages and from Jerusalem.
Dozens drove their cars the wrong way down the now-empty Jerusalem-bound lanes, picking up fellow Muslims who had abandoned their own vehicles to start the uphill trek on foot. Some chanted in Arabic: "With our souls and our blood, we will redeem you, Al-Aqsa!"
Police said it was stopping only those planning to take part in riots before the buses were allowed to proceed. Scuffles broke out and footage showed officers firing stun grenades.
On Friday, police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades towards Palestinian youths at the mosque in the walled Old City. At least 205 Palestinians were injured in Friday's confrontations, which drew international condemnations and calls for calm.
Clashes have erupted nightly in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah - a neighbourhood where numerous Palestinian families face eviction in a long-running legal case.
Gaza groups issued a call for protests along the border with Israel. "We salute the ppl. of Al-Aqsa, who oppose the arrogance of the Zionists & we call on our ppl. in Palestine to support their brothers by all means," Moussa Abu Marzouk, a leader of Hamas that rules Gaza, said on Twitter.
Tension was expected to remain high over the next few days. Israel's Supreme Court will hold a hearing on the Sheikh Jarrah evictions on Monday.
