Watch: Chaos In Jerusalem After Jewish Settler Groups Chant "Death To Arabs" During Ramadan (Israël)
Violence has erupted in and around the walled 'old city' section of Jerusalem during Muslim holidays after on Thursday night far-right Jewish groups staged a large demonstration at the Damascus Gate where they loudly chanted "death to Arabs".
Counter-protests by Palestinian youth quickly broke into fights between the two groups and clashes with police, as security services attempted to disperse rioters. Reuters reports on Friday that "After a night of violence in Jerusalem, Israeli police made over 50 arrests and Palestinian medics said 100 were injured during Ramadan clashes in the contested city at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
A number of journalists and commentators are observing the Jewish mobs are essentially seeking to ethnically cleanse the old city - which many Israeli's deem the authentic capital of Israel - by way of a mass pogrom.
Here's more via Reuters on the clashes, which have been nightly since the start of Ramadan:
Police deployed armored vehicles spraying foul-smelling skunk water towards the two groups – Palestinians gathered around Jerusalem’s historic Damascus Gate and hundreds of right-wing Israelis several hundred meters away.
Clashes and other violent incidents between Palestinians and Israelis have occurred nightly since the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Palestinians say police have tried to prevent them from holding their usual Ramadan evening gatherings outside Damascus Gate, an historic landmark on the north side of the Old City and adjacent to several Palestinian neighborhoods.
Despite the Muslim-Jewish tensions, this area of Jerusalem has historically had a large Palestinian Christian presence, also including Greek and Armenian Orthodox Christians as well.
The ultra-nationalist Jewish groups were filmed Thursday night entering the old city's streets while vowing to kick out Palestinian families.
This sparked multiple instances of Palestinians attacking Jewish individuals on the streets in return, as horrific footage shows...
Cars and trash bins were also set on fire overnight; however, the chaos turned to an uneasy calm by daytime Friday, which saw thousands of Muslims enter al-Aqsa Mosque for prayers.
Palestinian Muslims have in the past clashed with Israeli police at Damascus Gate over attempts to organize public worship events there. The city is on edge headed into the weekend, as more protests are expected.
In one week tens of thousands of Christians, including foreign pilgrims from Greece, Russia, and across Eastern Europe are expected in Jerusalem for the Orthodox Church's Easter (Pascha) celebrations, which is likely to cause further tensions with Jewish settler groups.
Meanwhile, things look to continue into Friday night and the weekend...
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