Police repel Dome of the Rock ‘rioters’

– Clashes erupted between Israelis and Palestinians at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound yesterday, after a 10day cooling of tensions at the holy site, Israeli police said.

Police said they had repelled “dozens of rioters” who had been “throwing stones and other objects” at the security forces.

An AFP correspondent said there was a large police presence in front of the mosque. The Palestinian Red Crescent had not reported any casualties.

The clashes came on the anniversary of Israel’s 1948 independence and followed a tense period in which the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, the Jewish festival of Passover and the Christian holiday of Easter overlapped.

Since mid-April, clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians have wounded nearly 300 at the flashpoint compound.

The site is Islam’s third-holiest. It is also Judaism’s holiest place, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.

Palestinians have been angered by an uptick in Jewish visitors to the compound, which Jews may visit but they may not pray.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has said the Jewish state “will not change” this status quo.

Last week, the Gaza Strip’s Islamist rulers Hamas threatened Israel with rockets and synagogue attacks if Israeli forces carried out further raids on the site.

“You should be ready for a great battle if the [Israeli] occupation does not stop attacking Al-Aqsa mosque,” said Yahya Sinwar, Hamas chief in the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian enclave.

The mounting violence since 22 March has killed 12 Israelis in four separate attacks. –

Picture: AFP FEELING THE HEAT. Israeli police restrain a Palestinian protester as security forces accompany a group of Jewish visitors past the Dome of the Rock at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem yesterday. It is revered as the site of two ancient Jewish temples and Islam’s third-holiest site.