(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - A large crowd of demonstrators, shouting slogans in support of Palestine and condemning the Israeli regime, marched to the Israeli Embassy in Baku on Friday after crossing barriers erected by security forces in front of the compound, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Azeri authorities introduced special security measures around the Israeli Embassy compound a few days before Quds Day to prevent anti-Israeli rallies by angry demonstrators at the venue.
The Friday gathering drew a violent reaction from the Azeri police, who assaulted demonstrators and arrested a number of them.
Meanwhile, tens of Baku citizens gathered at a holy shrine elsewhere in the city, calling for the liberation of al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The demonstrators were carrying placards displaying anti-Israeli slogans in support of the Palestinian nation.
They also read out a resolution voicing support for the Palestinian cause and calling for the liberation of all occupied territories including al-Quds and the disputed enclave of Karabakh.
Demonstrations in Baku were held in defiance of a state ban on all rallies marking Quds Day.
In August 1979, the late founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini declared the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan as International Quds Day, calling for international rallies in support of Palestinians and against Israel.
On the international Quds Day last year, tens of thousands of Azeri protesters assembled in front of the Israeli Embassy in Baku, demanding the closure of the office and the severance of all Azeri-Israeli ties.
The anti-Israeli sentiments in Azerbaijan have hiked in the wake of revelations of Tel Aviv's active role in the anti-hijab and Islamophobic campaigns in the former Soviet state.
The wave of Islamic awakening and the consequent revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East has further encouraged anti-Israeli movements in Azerbaijan.
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