Israeli occupation forces on Friday night shot dead a Palestinian youth in Al-Aqsa Mosque while he was trying to re-enter the holy site after being removed.
This came after Israeli occupation forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque and evacuated most of the Palestinian worshippers remaining inside.
At the same site of the killing, eyewitnesses stated they saw the Israeli occupation police assaulting a Palestinian woman who was also attempting to re-enter the mosque.
Local Palestinian media reported that the young man, identified as Mohammed Elasibi, a 26-year-old resident of the Bedouin town of Hura in Al-Naqab, attempted to protect the woman assaulted by the Israeli police.
Israeli police claimed in a statement that the young man tried to grab a soldier’s weapon and was subsequently shot and “neutralised”.
An eyewitness confirmed he heard 20 gunshots fired in less than a minute, leaving one man wounded on the floor near Bab Al-Silsila Gate.
The administration of Al-Aqsa Mosque said that about 250,000 Palestinians performed the second Friday prayer there, while hundreds stayed inside the mosque.
One of the few Palestinians who stayed at the mosque told local Palestinian media that the Israeli occupation forces stormed the sanctuary yards and forced most worshippers out.
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Montather Rassoul