Police, Palestinians clash at Jerusalem holy site

Rock-throwing Palestinians and Israeli police firing stun grenades clashed outside al-Aqsa mosque on Monday, in on-going violence in Jerusalem that has raised international concern.

Tensions in the city were particularly high as Israel was marking “Jerusalem Day”, its annual celebration of the capture of East Jerusalem, and the walled Old City that is home to Muslim, Jewish and Christian holy places, in a 1967 war.

Al-Aqsa, Islam’s third-holiest site, has been a focal point of violence in Jerusalem at the height of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In an effort to dial down tensions, Israeli police said they had banned Jewish groups from paying Jerusalem Day visits to the holy plaza that houses al-Aqsa, and which Jews revere as the site of biblical Jewish temples.

Police were also considering whether to reroute a traditional Jerusalem Day march in which thousands of Israeli flag-waving Jewish youth walk through the Old City’s Damascus Gate and the Muslim Quarter.

Live video showed Palestinians hurling rocks at police in riot gear on al-Aqsa’s stone-strewn plaza and police firing stun grenades. The skirmishes appeared to be less fierce than clashes late last week.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Police said they had deployed thousands of officers in Jerusalem streets and on rooftops to keep the peace.

PLANNED EVICTIONS

Tensions have also been fuelled by the planned evictions of several Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem.