Israeli police, Palestinians clash at al-Aqsa mosque plaza

JERUSALEM: Masked rockthrowing Palestinians and Israeli police using stun grenades clashed yesterday at al-Aqsa mosque plaza, on the annual Jewish day of mourning for Jerusalem’s two destroyed Biblical temples.

No serious injuries were reported at the site, which lies in the Israeli-occupied walled Old City and is revered by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and by Jews as the Temple Mount, where two temples once stood.

A police spokesperson said Palestinians had prepared makeshift barricades and used rocks, metal bars and flares to attack police.

Violence at the site has flared in the past year as Palestinians have been riled by visits by nonMuslims, including ultranationalist Jews, to the compound.

Police used stun grenades to push protesters back into the mosque and stepped inside its entrance way to close its main doors, which the spokeswoman said had been jammed open by rock-throwers. Israeli police, following long-standing procedures, do not venture further into the mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrine. – Reuters