In photos: Damage in Al-Aqsa Mosque in wake of Israeli raid
Israeli forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday through the back entrance of the emergency clinic, where they wreaked havoc and left it out of service.
In the violent raid, Israeli officers smashed doors and windows, broke the sound system, burned some of the rugs and destroyed the first-aid room, according to the Islamic Waqf, a joint Jordanian-Palestinian Islamic trust that manages the affairs of the mosque.
Dozens of worshippers were wounded by rubber-coated bullets, beatings, tear gas and stun grenades. At least 400 were arrested. (All photos taken by Latifeh Abdellatif for Middle East Eye)
The stained glass windows located at the top of the Qibli prayer hall - the thousand-year-old building building with the silver dome - were shattered by Israeli police officers minutes before the raid started.
With hundreds of men, women, elderly people and children locking themselves inside the mosque, officers fired a barrage of tear gas and stun grenades at worshippers while the electricity was out.
The iconic handcrafted windows, which were damaged by Israeli forces in recent years in similar raids, take up to a year to restore.
The restoration work is done by special technicians on the site, in a small building beside the Dome of the Rock, using traditional methods without the use of electronic devices.
The casings of dozens of tear gas and stun grenades fired were found inside the mosque once the raid ended.
The Islamic Waqf condemned the assault on worshippers and called on Palestinians not to be deterred by the violence, urging them to come to the site to exercise their right of worship.
Worshippers returned to the site after the raid and began clearing the damage left to the clinic and other facilities.
However, Israeli police maintained a large presence in the Old City and continued to restrict who can enter the site.
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