World reacts as Jerusalem tensions escalate

More than 200 were wounded in Al-Aqsa amid growing anger over Israeli plans to evict Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah.

More than 200 people, mostly Palestinians, were wounded late on Friday outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem as Israeli police fired rubber-coated metal bullets and stun grenades towards rock-hurling Palestinians. Tens of thousands of worshippers had earlier packed Islam’s third-holiest site on the final Friday of Ramadan and many stayed on to protest against Israeli plans to evict Palestinian families from their homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. Palestinians have staged a series of sit-ins in the area in recent days denouncing Israeli orders for them to vacate their homes. Israeli security forces have attacked the sit-ins using skunk water, tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and shock grenades. Dozens of Palestinians have been arrested.