42 hurt in clashes at Al-aqsa mosque

Fresh clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police at Jerusalem's Al-aqsa mosque compound injured 42 people yesterday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, following weeks of violence at the flashpoint site.

The unrest came on the final Friday in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. None of the injuries were serious, the Red Crescent said, adding that 22 people had been taken to hospital.

Israel's police said forces entered the compound after "rioters" hurled stones and fireworks, including down towards the Western Wall, the sacred Jewish site below Al-aqsa.

The statement said officers used "riot dispersal means" to contain the unrest. Witnesses and AFP reporters said police fired tear gas and rubber bullets.

Police said three people had been arrested, two for throwing stones and one for "inciting the mob".

"For the past hour, the site has been quiet and (Muslim) worshippers are safely entering (the compound)" police said.

But tensions remain high at the site in the heart of Jerusalem's old, walled city, part of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

Over the past two weeks, nearly 300 Palestinians have been injured in clashes at the Al-aqsa compound, Islam's third-holiest site which is the most holy site for Jews, who call it the Temple Mount.

Israel's incursions into the site during Ramadan have raised global concern, but the Jewish state has insisted it was compelled to act against operatives from the Islamist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad who were seeking to spark widespread unrest across Jerusalem.

In an apparent attempt to ease tensions, Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has stressed that the government was committed to the status quo at the compound, meaning an adherence to long-standing convention that only Muslims are allowed to pray there.