At least 20 Palestinians were killed, including five children, during a recent uptick in Israeli-Palestinian violence triggered by events related to Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, according to a Palestinian NGO.
In a Friday report, the Abdullah al-Hourani Center for Research and Documentation (run by the Palestine Liberation Organization) stated that 20 Palestinians -- from the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip -- had lost their lives during a flare-up of violence that first began in mid-July.
According to the same report, a total of 63 Palestinians -- including 15 children -- had been killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of this year.
The report also states that the Israeli army detained more than 600 Palestinians, including scores of minors, last month alone, while some 1,400 Palestinians were injured in confrontations with Israeli security forces.
In mid-July, Israel imposed a raft of draconian security measures at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque complex after two Israeli police officers were killed at the site by alleged Palestinian attackers.
Israel later reversed the security measures -- which had included the installation of metal detectors -- after Palestinian Muslims surrounded the area in protest.