Hundreds of Palestinians injured in Israeli police clashes as tensions soar in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM – Hundreds of Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli police at one of Jerusalem’s holiest sites on Monday, as tensions in the city continue to soar.

Footage from social media showed Israeli police inside Al Aqsa mosque and its surrounding compound, throwing stun grenades, and Palestinians throwing rocks at officers. Around 50 injured Palestinians were taken to hospital for treatment, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

The clashes came hours before an annual march through Jerusalem’s Old City when Israelis mark the day the Israeli army took control of the Western Wall and the rest of East Jerusalem in 1967. In previous years, the march has been a flashpoint with Palestinian residents of the Old City complaining it is provocative for the procession to pass down a main street in the Muslim quarter. Authorities have been discussing placing restrictions on this year’s route to lessen the chance of confrontation.

Also heightening tensions on Monday, a car drove into two pedestrians near the Lion’s Gate entrance to the Old City after it was pelted with stones, according to video of the incident. The car, carrying religious Israelis, came under attack by young Palestinians as it tried to change direction, before accelerating forward and mounting the curb, sending two Palestinians hurling backward. Police said the driver had lost control of the vehicle and that its occupants were slightly injured. The condition of the two Palestinians is not yet known.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has backed police for their handling of rising tensions in Jerusalem over recent weeks, which he described Monday as a “struggle for the heart” of the city. He said Israel was committed to “ensuring the rights of everyone” to pursue their faith.

One of the main sources of growing unrest in recent days has been the possible eviction of several Palestinian families from their homes in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. On Sunday, Israel’s supreme court postponed an appeal hearing on the decades-long legal case.

Israeli police have clashed with Palestinians in the neighborhood, as well as other locations, for several weeks now, with Palestinians accusing Jewish nationalists of provocation and police of heavy-handed tactics.

A pro-settler organization called Nahalat Shimon is using a 1970 law to argue that the owners of the land before 1948 were Jewish families, and so the current Palestinian landowners should be evicted and their properties given to Israeli Jews.

Palestinians say restitution laws in Israel are unfair because they have no legal means to reclaim property they lost to Jewish families in the late 1940s in what became the state of Israel.

The situation in Sheikh Jarrah has drawn worldwide attention, with the United States expressing concern over the weekend.

“We are also deeply concerned about the potential eviction of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighborhoods of Jerusalem, many of whom have lived in their homes for generations,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

“As we have consistently said, it is critical to avoid steps that exacerbate tensions or take us farther away from peace. This includes evictions in East Jerusalem, settlement activity, home demolitions, and acts of terrorism.”

In a statement on Saturday, the Israeli foreign ministry called the situation in Sheikh Jarrah a “real-estate dispute.”

“Regrettably, the PA and Palestinian terror groups are presenting a real-estate dispute between private parties, as a nationalistic cause, in order to incite violence in Jerusalem,” the ministry said.

Palestinian leaders and institutions, including the Palestine National Council, have described the evictions of Palestinian residents from their homes as “ethnic cleansing” aimed at “Judaizing the holy city,” according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency.

Most of the international community regards East Jerusalem as occupied territory, and Palestinians see it as the capital of a future state. Israel wants to keep the city united as part of its sovereign territory, rejecting the idea that any part of it is occupied.

Virus outbreaks stoke tensions in some state capitols

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – After only their first few weeks of work, tensions already are high among lawmakers meeting in-person at some state capitols – not because of testy debates over taxes, guns or abortion, but because of a disregard for coronavirus precautions.

In Georgia, a Republican lawmaker recently was booted from the House floor for refusing to get tested for the coronavirus. In Iowa, a Democratic House member boldly violated a no-jeans rule to protest the chamber’s lack of a mask rule.

And in Missouri, numerous lawmakers and staff – some fearing for their health after a COVID-19 outbreak in the Capitol – scrambled to get vaccinated at a pop-up clinic before legislative leaders warned that the shots weren’t actually meant for them. GOP Gov. Mike Parson denounced the lawmakers as line-jumpers.

House Democratic leader Crystal Quade, who got the shot, blamed the lax policies of the Republican-led Legislature for fostering angst.

Lawmakers are “coming every week to a building that doesn’t have precautions, where people aren’t wearing masks, where people are getting a positive test left and right,” Quade said.

“We are essentially a super-spreader just waiting to happen,” she said.

Since the start of this year, more than 50 state lawmakers in roughly one-third of the states already have fallen ill with the virus, according to an Associated Press tally. More than 350 state legislators have gotten COVID-19 since the pandemic began, including seven who died after contracting it. Republican lawmakers have had a disproportionate share of the cases, according to the AP’s data.

The U.S. Capitol also experienced a spike in COVID-19 cases – and tensions – after some Republican lawmakers refused to wear masks while sheltering with others during the Jan. 6 siege by supporters of former President Donald Trump.

The Missouri Capitol has had one of the largest outbreaks so far this year, with at least 10 cases among lawmakers. That number might be higher, but it’s hard to know because some lawmakers have refused to say whether they contracted the virus and aren’t required to tell legislative administrators.

Missouri’s legislature has no mask requirement, no formal contact tracing and no ability for lawmakers to vote remotely. Social distancing also is difficult, especially in the 163-member House chamber where desks are packed tightly together.

After being in session for barely a week, the Missouri House canceled all work for a full week “due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the building.” House Majority Leader Dean Plocher declined to estimate how many were sick, saying lawmakers had a right to privacy.

In Iowa, Democratic Rep. Amy Nielsen tested positive last weekend. She said she likely was infected at the Capitol, where Republican leaders have refused to require people to wear masks or disclose positive cases.

Iowa House rules require men to wear ties and jackets and prohibit jeans, but Republican House Speaker Pat Grassley said he cannot force members to wear masks and is unwilling to make them leave if they don’t. On Tuesday, Democratic Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell wore jeans on the House floor to make a point and refused a request to change clothes. Grassley then prevented her from speaking during debate.

“Jeans aren’t hurting anybody, but all the people wandering around without masks on, they are,” Wessel-Kroeschell said Wednesday.

Ohio Sen. Cecil Thomas, a Democrat, walked out of a committee hearing Wednesday because many members of the public weren’t wearing masks. In Ohio’s Republican-controlled House on Wednesday, GOP lawmakers – many without masks -rejected Democratic motions to require statehouse staff to wear masks and to allow virtual testimony on bills, including by lawmakers.

In other states, Republican leaders have run into resistance from their own members while trying to enforce coronavirus precautions.

Georgia House Speaker David Ralston had police escort fellow GOP Rep. David Clark from the chamber last week after Clark refused to comply with the chamber’s twice-weekly coronavirus testing. At least nine Georgia lawmakers already have tested positive this year.

“I don’t know about you all, but I’ve been to too many funerals,” Ralston told colleagues after having Clark removed.

Clark eventually got tested and returned to the House a couple days later.

In Mississippi, where nearly 50 lawmakers tested positive for COVID-19 last summer, at least five more have come down with the virus since the session began in early January.

At least five Pennsylvania lawmakers also have become ill with the coronavirus this year, in addition to a dozen who had it last year. Conflicts about mask-wearing have been common, with a few dozen Republican lawmakers regularly going maskless on the House floor and during committee hearings.

Last week, House Minority Leader Joanna McClinton rose to make a point: “Masks are supposed to be worn on the floor of the House, and I’ve counted over 30 members that currently are unmasked,” she told the Republican House speaker.

Speaker Bryan Cutler summoned McClinton to the front of the chamber for a private talk after she disputed his response that some lawmakers of both parties were maskless. Cutler eventually encouraged everyone to abide by the chamber’s mask rules.

In New Mexico’s Democratic-led Legislature, House Speaker Brian Egolf excluded nearly all lawmakers from floor sessions and closed conference rooms after a Republican lawmaker and several staff tested positive for COVID-19. He cast partisan blame.

“What I have observed is that certain members of the Republican Party do not adhere to COVID practices in any meaningful way,” Egolf said.

House Republican leaders have asked the state Supreme Court to intervene, arguing the pandemic precautions go far beyond what’s necessary to protect public health.

“The new rules are unconstitutional in that they define ‘present’ as not present, the ‘seat of government’ as something other than where the legislature meets, and require members to participate via computers and headphones,” the Republican lawsuit states.

Coronavirus tensions were evident Monday during the opening of Oklahoma’s legislative session. About 20 lawmakers – mainly majority Republicans – didn’t wear masks as they gathered for the governor’s state of the state address. That frustrated House Democratic leader Emily Virgin, whose parents both were hospitalized last year after contracting COVID-19.

“It’s misguided. It’s dangerous. It sets a horrible example,” Virgin said during a news conference outside of an Oklahoma City hospital.

In the Wisconsin Assembly, majority Republicans aren’t allowing lawmakers to attend committee hearings or floor debate remotely. Democratic Rep. Lee Snodgrass tweeted that they were being forced to choose “between their health … or being in person for floor session.”

New Hampshire Rep. Al Baldasaro, a Republican, drew criticism for leading a lengthy committee hearing – much of it without his face covered – after returning from a trip to Florida. The state’s travel rules require anyone leaving New England to quarantine for 10 days upon returning, and Statehouse rules forbid entry to those who recently made such trips.

The House speaker’s office said Baldasaro was allowed to attend the hearing because the state health department considers lawmakers “critical infrastructure staff.” Baldasaro said he eventually put on a face shield to satisfy anyone “whining and complaining.”

“The people elected me to do a job and I will not be showing a sign of weakness by hiding in a basement or my computer because of COVID,” Baldasaro said in an email to the AP.