Gaza, April 6 (IANS) Palestinian militants fired two projectiles from the Gaza Strip towards Israel in the wake of the heightened tension at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, the army in the Jewish state said on Thursday.
In a statement, an Israeli army spokesman said the projectiles were launched late Wednesday night from the besieged enclave towards the Gaza border, reports Xinhua news agency.
According to the spokesman, one of the projectiles failed to cross the border and landed in Gaza, while the other crashed in the border fence area inside Israeli territory.
No injuries or damage were reported, and no one has so far claimed responsibility.
The Israeli Army Radio reported that sirens were turned on in the towns bordering the Gaza Strip due to the firing.
The development took place when Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi was in the area to celebrate the Jewish Passover holiday with soldiers, according to the Radio.
The month of Ramadan this year coincides with the Passover holiday.
The incident came a day after Palestinian militants fired nine projectiles from the Gaza Strip, four of which were intercepted by the Israel’s Iron Dome.
It was in response to clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian worshippers at the Al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem and some other neighbourhoods in the Old City of Jerusalem.
In retaliation, Israel carried out intensive airstrikes that targeted two military posts of the Hamas in the southwest and central Gaza Strip.
The posts suffered severe damage with no injuries reported.
The clashes erupted on Tuesday night after the Palestinians barricaded themselves in the mosque following the evening Ramadan prayers, amid reports that Jewish extremists wanted to try to sacrifice a Passover goat at the site — as Jews did in Biblical times before the Romans destroyed their temple there.
Israeli police have said that 350 people were arrested in a pre-dawn raid on Wednesday after what they called “agitators” with fireworks, sticks and stones shut themselves inside, reports the BBC.
Meanwhile, Palestinians said stun grenades and rubber bullets were used to clear out the group and that 14 people were hurt.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the most sacred site, is regarded by Muslims as their third holiest site.
The holy site has been administered by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, a Jordanian body, since 1948.
Under a 1967 agreement between Israel and Jordan, non-Muslim worshippers can visit the compound but are prohibited from praying there.
In April 2022, the mosque compound witnessed violent clashes between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli police forces when Jews visited the holy site.
This latest incident comes amid growing tensions between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem that have been going on since the beginning of this year.
At least 89 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed since January, while 15 Israelis were killed in a series of attacks in the same period of time, according to official figures.
–IANS
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