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Clashes erupt near Temple Mount

October 13, 2014

Israeli police have raided the compound of Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount to thwart an alleged attack by Palestinian rioters. The Palestinian youths were protesting against Orthodox Jews visiting the holy site.

https://p.dw.com/p/1DU4l
The Dome of the Rock Mosque is seen as Palestinian men pray in the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, also known to Jews as the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday Aug. 28, 2009 (ddp images/AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
Image: AP

The clashes broke out on Monday morning outside the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, which is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. Police said that Palestinian youths hurled stones and fired flares at them, in protest against the Jewish worshipers' visit last week to the compound in commemoration of the week-long Feast of Tabernacles.

The protesters took refuge inside the mosque after Israeli police began to disperse them. There have been no reports of injuries during the brief scuffle. Palestinian demonstrators also clashed with Israeli police in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told the news agency Associated Press he had received information about a "planned violent demonstration" and found firebombs and rocks at the site of the clash. Israeli police are not authorized to enter the mosque, which is jointly administered by Jordanian and Palestinian authorities.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday the "provocations" at Jerusalem's holy sites must end.

"I am deeply concerned by repeated provocations at the holy sites in Jerusalem. These only inflame tensions and must stop," Ban told a news conference, during his visit to the Palestinian city of Ramallah.

Non-Muslims, barring Jews, are allowed to visit the Al-Aqsa complex but their visits are regulated by police. Jewish people pray instead at the Western Wall below the mosque.

Police confirmed that Monday's visit to the area by Orthodox Jews eventually went ahead without further problems.

shs/ng (AP, AFP)