Police clash with Palestinians, far-right march in Jerusalem

Israeli police clashed with Palestinians outside Jerusalem's Old City on Thursday and manned barricades to prevent hundreds of Jewish extremists from marching to the area.

Tensions are even higher than normal in the city, which is home to holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims and has long been a flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian violence.

The police have clashed with Palestinians on a nightly basis since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan last week, when authorities set up barricades at Damascus Gate, a traditional outdoor gathering spot.

Palestinians run away as a stun grenades are fired by Israeli police during clashes at Damascus Gate just outside Jerusalem's Old City, Thursday, April. 22, 2021. Palestinians clashed with Israeli police over restrictions on Ramadan gatherings ahead of a planned march by Lahava, a Jewish extremist group, to the area later on Thursday amid heightened tensions in the city. (AP PhotoMahmoud Illean)

Police said the protesters threw stones and bottles. Footage circulating online showed police and hundreds of protesters running through the streets as the sound of either fireworks or stun grenades echoed in the background. Police said three people were arrested.

The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said 32 Palestinians were injured in the clashes, including 12 who were hospitalized.

Meanwhile, a far-right Jewish group known as Lahava led a march of hundreds of protesters chanting “Arabs get out!” toward Damascus Gate. The show of force came in response to videos circulated on TikTok showing Palestinians slapping religious Jews at random. Other videos made in response to them appear to show Jews assaulting Arabs.

A wounded Palestinian demonstrator receives treatment after he was hit during clashes with Israeli police at Damascus Gate just outside Jerusalem's Old City, Thursday, April. 22, 2021. Palestinians clashed with Israeli police over restrictions on Ramadan gatherings ahead of a planned march by Lahava, a Jewish extremist group, to the area later on Thursday amid heightened tensions in the city. (AP PhotoAriel Schalit)

Police set up barricades a few hundred meters (yards) from Damascus Gate and by late Thursday appeared to have succeeded in keeping the protesters separated.

Israel captured east Jerusalem, where the Old City is located, in the 1967 war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state. Its status was one of the thorniest issues in the peace process, which ground to a halt more than a decade ago.

Israeli border police block members of "Lahava", a Jewish extremist group, to approach to Damascus Gate to protest amid heightened tensions in the city, just outside Jerusalem's Old City, Thursday, April. 22, 2021. (AP PhotoAriel Schalit)

Israeli border police detain an Israeli youth as members of "Lahava", a Jewish extremist group, as they try approach to Damascus Gate to protest amid heightened tensions in the city, just outside Jerusalem's Old City, Thursday, April. 22, 2021. (AP PhotoAriel Schalit)

Mounted Israeli police officers ride past a fire during clashes with Palestinians, just outside Jerusalem's Old City, Thursday, April 22, 2021. Israeli police manned barricades to prevent hundreds of Jewish extremists from marching to the area as police clashed with Palestinians on a nightly basis since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan last week, when they set up barricades at Damascus Gate, a traditional outdoor gathering spot. (AP PhotoAriel Schalit)

Israeli border police block members of "Lahava", a Jewish extremist group on approach to Damascus Gate to protest amid heightened tensions in the city, just outside Jerusalem's Old City, Thursday, April 22, 2021. (AP PhotoAriel Schalit)

Israeli border police block members of "Lahava," a Jewish extremist group to approach to Damascus Gate to protest amid heightened tensions in the city, just outside Jerusalem's Old City, Thursday, April 22, 2021. (AP PhotoAriel Schalit)

Israeli police and Palestinian youths clashed again at a major Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims on Friday despite a temporary halt to Jewish visits to the site, which are seen as a provocation by the Palestinians.

Palestinians and Israeli police have regularly clashed at the site for the last week at a time of heightened tensions in the region following a string of deadly attacks inside Israel and arrest raids in the occupied West Bank. Three rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Palestinian youths hurled stones toward police at a gate leading into the compound, according to two Palestinian witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns. The police, in full riot gear, then entered the compound, firing rubber bullets and stun grenades.

Israeli police clash with Palestinian protesters at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP PhotoMahmoud Illean)

The Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said nine Palestinians were wounded, two of them seriously.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City is the third holiest site in Islam. The sprawling esplanade on which it is built is the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the location of two Jewish temples in antiquity. It lies at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and clashes there have often ignited violence elsewhere.

Tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers are expected at the site later in the day for the main weekly prayers.

Israeli police move behind riot shields during clashes with Palestinian protesters at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP PhotoMahmoud Illean)

Palestinians and neighboring Jordan, the custodian of the site, accuse Israel of violating longstanding arrangements by allowing increasingly large numbers of Jews to visit the site under police escort.

A longstanding prohibition on Jews praying at the site has eroded in recent years, fueling fears among Palestinians that Israel plans to take over the site or partition it.

Israel says it remains committed to the status quo and blames the violence on incitement by the Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza. It says its security forces are acting to thwart rock-throwers in order to ensure freedom of worship for Jews and Muslims.

Visits by Jewish groups were halted beginning Friday for the last 10 days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as they have been in the past.

This year, the fasting month coincided with the Jewish Passover and major Christian holidays, with tens of thousands of people from all three faiths flocking to the Old City after the lifting of most coronavirus restrictions.