Palestinians clash with Israel police at Jerusalem holy site

Palestinians protested after Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem and briefly clashed with Israeli police, leaving three demonstrators wounded.

A series of far more violent clashes at the site in April and May helped ignite last month's 11-day Gaza war. The site is the third holiest in Islam and the holiest for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the location of the biblical temples.

It has frequently been the scene of Israeli-Palestinian violence. This time, the police refrained from entering the compound and appeared to act with more restraint, possibly on the orders of Israel's newly sworn-in government. The Red Crescent emergency service said two Palestinians were wounded by rubber bullets and a third by a stone that was thrown.

Israeli security forces take positions during clashes with Palestinians in front of the Dome of the Rock Mosque at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, June 18, 2021. (AP PhotoMahmoud Illean)

Young Palestinians could be seen throwing stones at police stationed at an entrance to the compound, who fired stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets.

Hundreds demonstrated after Friday prayers in response to a rally held by Jewish ultranationalists on Tuesday in which dozens had chanted “Death to Arabs” and “May your village burn.” The Palestinians protested against insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad, after online video showed some of the participants in the Tuesday march denigrating him.

Tensions have remained high since an informal cease-fire halted the Gaza war on May 21. Tuesday's rally was held to celebrate Israel's capture of east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites, during the 1967 war. Police forcibly cleared Palestinians from the route of the march and provided security as many in the crowd made racist chants.

Israeli security forces take positions during clashes with Palestinians in front of the Dome of the Rock Mosque at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, June 18, 2021. (AP PhotoMahmoud Illean)

In Gaza, meanwhile, activists mobilized by the territory's militant Hamas rulers have sent incendiary balloons across the frontier into Israel, setting fields and farmland ablaze. Israel launched airstrikes on Wednesday and Thursday, targeting what it said were Hamas facilities.

There were no casualties from the strikes, but the violence risked unraveling the truce brokered by Egyptian mediators, who have been meeting with both Israel and Hamas to solidify it.

Israel swore in a new government last weekend, ending Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 12 years in power. It relies on a fragile coalition of parties from across Israel's political spectrum, and is expected to try and sideline the Palestinian issue as much as possible.

Israeli security forces take positions during clashes with Palestinians in front of the Dome of the Rock Mosque at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, June 18, 2021. (AP PhotoMahmoud Illean)

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 war, territories the Palestinians want for a future state. The peace process ground to a halt more than a decade ago.

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.