JERUSALEM, Nov 5 (agencies): Israeli police clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians inside Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound Wednesday after Jewish nationalists announced plans to visit the site despite weeks of soaring tensions.
The compound, which is holy to both Jews and Muslims, is one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East.
It has been the scene of frequent confrontations in recent months, largely triggered by Palestinian fears that Israel was poised to allow Jewish prayer at the site.
The latest clashes erupted after a group of hardline Jewish nationalists said they were planning to visit the plaza a week after the attempted murder of one of their leaders by a Palestinian gunman.
"Dozens of masked protesters threw stones and firecrackers at security forces who then entered the Temple Mount and pushed the demonstrators inside the (Al-Aqsa) mosque," police spokeswoman Luba Samri said, using the Israeli term for the compound.
In a bid to quell the disturbances, police entered "several metres" inside the Al-Aqsa mosque to remove blockages set up by the protesters in order to lock them inside, she said.
Police said the protesters had stayed in the mosque overnight to try to prevent the visit by Jewish hardliners, and had started hurling stones and firecrackers when police opened the entrance used by non-Muslims. Police often lock protesters in the mosque when clashes erupt at the site.
Amin Abu Ghazali of the Palestinian Red Crescent told AFP that three people had been wounded by rubber bullets and another 15 people, who sustained light injuries, had been treated at the scene.
Heavy clashes at Jerusalem mosque compound
FE Team | Published: November 06, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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