JERUSALEM: Israeli police and Palestinian protesters clashed Sunday near Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in Jerusalem.
Tension mounted after Israeli authorities closed the site in the Old City and 150 to 200 people gathered to pray outside the Lion’s Gate, which leads into the compound, police and witnesses said. Clashes erupted shortly afterward, with Palestinians throwing stones and security forces hurling stun grenades and firing a water cannon.
Medics said seven people were wounded and police said three were arrested.
The Old City remained calm but tense hours after the clashes, with dozens of Israeli forces deployed throughout the narrow streets of the city.
Police said they had closed access to the compound after mosque loudspeakers in the Old City urged people to gather there. Witnesses said the call followed rumors that Israeli authorities were going to allow occupiers to enter the compound during the current Jewish festival of Sukkot.
“They want to keep us away so they can impose their will and allow settlers to enter Al-Aqsa,” Yusuf Mukheimar, one of the organizers of Sunday’s prayer, said.
On Saturday night, a group of several dozen Palestinians entered the mosque compound to confront any such visits by Jewish extremists.
Hamas lashed out at Israel over the clashes, saying: “The continuation of these Zionist plots against the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem is a fuse that could ignite the entire region.”
