Israeli security forces stormed Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque site early Friday as thousands of Palestinians gathered for Ramadan prayers. According to Red Crescent medics, at least 117 Palestinians were hurt in the ensuing battle, some by rubber-coated bullets or stun grenades, while others were clubbed with batons. Israel reported that three officers were injured due to "massive stone-throwing."

The Al-Aqsa Mosque is located in a holy location for both Muslims and Jews, and it has been the scene of several major battles between Israeli Jews and Palestinians. According to Israel's Foreign Ministry, officers were responding to dozens of masked men who marched to the compound early Friday and began gathering stones in preparation for violence, and "police were forced to enter the grounds to disperse the crowd and remove the stones and rocks, to prevent further violence."

According to the police, they did not enter the mosque. The Associated Press reported the video shows Palestinians barricading themselves inside the mosque "amid what appeared to be clouds of tear gas," "The confrontations occur at a very delicate time. This year, Ramadan falls on the same day as Passover, a weeklong Jewish festival that begins at sundown on Friday, and Holy Week, a Christian holy week that concludes on Easter Sunday. The celebrations are likely to draw tens of thousands of believers to Jerusalem's Old City, which is home to significant religious sites in all three religions."

Tensions were already running high before Friday's confrontation. Israel has responded to a spate of attacks within Israel by conducting police searches and conducting military operations throughout the occupied West Bank. According to the Associated Press, at least 25 Palestinians have been murdered in the unrest, "many of whom had carried out attacks or were involved in the clashes, but an unarmed woman and a lawyer who appears to have been killed by mistake."