Al-Jazeera.com :
Israeli police have clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians inside Jerusalem’s flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound after a far-right Jewish group announced plans to visit the site despite weeks of soaring tensions.
The planned visit by the Jewish group, including ultra-nationalist politicians, was to have taken place a week after the attempted assassination of one of its leading activists by a Palestinian gunman prompted Israel to close the site.
The al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, is in a compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif.
Al Jazeera’s Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from Jerusalem, said Israeli security forces briefly entered the compound as clashes broke out.
“In a rare move, we understand that Israeli security forces entered the mosque at al-Aqsa mosque,” he said.
Israeli police told Al Jazeera that they had only entered briefly to close the door, but our correspondent said the move was likely to heighten tensions in the Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem. “There is still a lot of tension and a huge police presence here,” our correspondent said.
“These provocations, as it’s seen by Palestinans at the al-Aqsa mosque, will certainly not do anything to calm the situation.”
Israeli police said protesters threw stones and firecrackers at police officers minutes before the mosque compound opened.
“Police entered the area, pushed the masked rioters back, and they fled back into al-Aqsa. Police closed the front gate of the mosque but did not enter,” said Micky Rosenfeld, an Israeli police spokesman.
Israeli police have clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians inside Jerusalem’s flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound after a far-right Jewish group announced plans to visit the site despite weeks of soaring tensions.
The planned visit by the Jewish group, including ultra-nationalist politicians, was to have taken place a week after the attempted assassination of one of its leading activists by a Palestinian gunman prompted Israel to close the site.
The al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, is in a compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif.
Al Jazeera’s Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from Jerusalem, said Israeli security forces briefly entered the compound as clashes broke out.
“In a rare move, we understand that Israeli security forces entered the mosque at al-Aqsa mosque,” he said.
Israeli police told Al Jazeera that they had only entered briefly to close the door, but our correspondent said the move was likely to heighten tensions in the Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem. “There is still a lot of tension and a huge police presence here,” our correspondent said.
“These provocations, as it’s seen by Palestinans at the al-Aqsa mosque, will certainly not do anything to calm the situation.”
Israeli police said protesters threw stones and firecrackers at police officers minutes before the mosque compound opened.
“Police entered the area, pushed the masked rioters back, and they fled back into al-Aqsa. Police closed the front gate of the mosque but did not enter,” said Micky Rosenfeld, an Israeli police spokesman.
