Rabat – Israeli forces raided Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday morning, injuring at least 150 Palestinians and arresting hundreds more.

Around 400 have been arrested according to Palestinian news agencies, such as Wafa. Thousands were attending early morning prayers at the mosque when the arrests took place.

Videos showed Israeli forces using tear gas in the mosque while worshippers barricaded themselves in and threw what appeared to be rocks at Israeli troops.

Israeli authorities claimed the raid was done to break up a violent altercation, witnesses and people present near the mosque said the attack was unprovoked, and that Israeli forces hit worshippers regardless of age, or whether they were being violent.

“They brutally emptied the compound. They were attacking the mosque staff, normal people, elders, young people,” Palestinian cameraman, Rami al-Khatib told Al Jazeera.

Al-Khatib also said the Israeli forces used rubber bullets, and attacked even paramedics and other medical staff that came to help the injured.

The Palestinian Red Crescent accused Israeli forces of obstructing the passage of ambulances and the transportation of the injured to hospitals.

The Palestinian Presidency decried the attack, calling it a “dangerous development” and a “declaration of war,” while Hamas called on Palestinians in the West Bank to unite to defend Jerusalem.

The Israeli side blamed the attack on “Palestinian thugs,” claiming that the Israeli forces were only trying to maintain peace in the mosque during prayers.

The attack is a repeat of last year, when protests and demonstrations during Ramadan at Al-Aqsa eventually led to an 11-day offensive by Israel on the Gaza strip that saw hundred of Palestinian civilians killed.

Israeli raids on Al-Aqsa, dubbed by Palestinians as “incursions” are not unheard of, as settlers and far right activists constantly monitor the mosque’s courtyards surrounded by Israeli forces.

Recent violence

Israel has recently upped its violence against Palestinian civilians again, amid calls from Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for Israeli civilians to be able to carry firearms in public.

Earlier this month, Israel killed three Palestinian men in the West Bank city of Jenin, prompting national condemnation from Palestinian figures and authorities.

The Palestinian Mission to the United Nations recently published a letter condemning the Israeli actions, and warning of a “destructive religious war” should escalations by the Israeli government and settlers continue.

“In the last 24 hours, six Palestinians, including children, have been murdered by the Israeli occupation forces,” the letter reads. “These killings have been carried out upon the direct instructions of the Israeli Prime Minister.”

The recent uptick in violence coincided with the 20th anniversary of the 2002 battle in the Jenin refugee camp, which saw the death of more than fifty Palestinians, and the injury of tens more.