 For more videos on people's struggles, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. On April 18th Sunday, Palestinian worshippers who had gone to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque were violently repressed by Israeli security forces. The forces injured four people while three were arrested according to reports. The worshippers who were leaving by the Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem were forced to disperse by the police. The police used tear gas canisters, stun grenades and water cannons to disperse the crowd. Since the beginning of Ramadan, police have been attacking Palestinians gathered close to the Damascus Gate. The Israeli police have banned any gatherings near the Damascus Gate while at the same time allowed gatherings for Israeli settlers in other parts of the city. The recent clashes have been triggered after the Jerusalem police decided to prevent Palestinians from sitting on the steps of the Damascus Gate. Thousands of Palestinians often sit on the steps following their prayers. This year, police however set up barriers. This angered the believers who usually meet near the gate after their Ramadan fast ends. Meanwhile, religious Zionist parliamentarians Itamar Ben-Guir and Bizal al-Mortrik arrived at the scene to support the police and urged them to crack down on the Palestinian protesters according to reports. In recent times, the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex has become a major flashpoint mainly because of the numerous attacks by Israeli security forces and extremist civilian groups on those who come to pray at the mosque. Israel has imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinians, multiple security checks and has often limited and reduced the time of worship for Palestinians. These kinds of restrictions are especially implemented during festivals. Meanwhile, the mosque premises have been regularly invaded by extremist Jewish settlers, including those belonging to the ultra-right wing Jewish organization called the Union of Temple Mount, also known as the Third Temple Movement. These settlers have even called for the demolition of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. They have demanded that Israel take over the land since according to them it was the site of the Temple of Solomon, a Jewish temple. The Israeli government and military have extended both tacit and oar support to these extremist settlers. In October 2019, extremist settlers invaded the Al-Aqsa premises multiple times. 2,473 extremist settlers stormed the mosque on October 18 and 816 and 1,000 settlers respectively forced their way into the compound on the previous two days. Earlier that month, the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound was stormed during the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. On both occasions, Israeli security forces, instead of stopping the settlers, cracked down on protesting Palestinian worshippers. These invasions are in clear violation of international law. Under Israeli law 2, access to religious places for worshippers is protected by the state. The law prescribes five years imprisonment for anyone preventing people from accessing their religious places. As per the Israeli law, Jews are only allowed to visit the mosque at designated visiting hours and are not allowed to pray. However, successive Israeli governments and particularly liquid led governments have violated the law on numerous occasions. The government and Zionist forces often use the mosque entry for political gains. Ariel Sharon's provocative visit to Al-Aqsa in September 2000 was one of the catalysts for the Second Intifada.