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JERUSALEM – Agence France-Presse
Israeli police closed the gates to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound for several hours Friday after clashes with Palestinian worshippers following midday prayers at the flashpoint site.
For the sake of the mosque, which is Islam's third holiest site, was prevented by Israeli officers, an AFP photographer said, following the clashes inside.
The compound was reopened in
Police said the clashes were sparked after Friday midday prayers as "rioters started to throw fireworks directly at police".
"Police entered the Temple Mount compound and the evacuating the site During the dispersal of the rioters police arrested a number of suspects, "a statement said, using the Jewish name for the site.
The Waqf, the religious aut Palestinians inside the compound mosque
Police later surrounded the Al-Aqsa mosque, which shares the compound with the gold-topped Dome of the Rock, before entering to arrest "several dozen rioters who continued to blockade themselves" in the building
Jordan, which is recognised as the guardian of religious sites in disputed Jerusalem, criticized the Israeli measures
In a statement, a government spokesman condemned Al-Aqsa mosque, especially the Israeli police storming the mosque today, and its aggression against the worshippers "
The compound is one of the most fractious issues in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. 19659004] The site is also holy to Jews, who believes it to be the location of the first and second temples of Judaism and refers to Mount Temple.
An outer wall of the site i
Ahmed Tibi, an Arab member of the Israeli parliament, was arrested in the Western Wall of the Israeli Parliament.
After the fireworks were thrown, he told AFP at the site, "it was calm, why did they close the gates?"
"There is nothing justifying closing them."
The mosque is a rallying point for Palestinians and Muslims, who fear Israel is seeking to change
In July 2017 tens of thousands of Palestinians prayed outside Israel for the sake of the world.
Palestinians say a visit to the site by right wing Israeli politician Ariel Sharon sparked the second intifada, or uprising, in 2000, though Israel disputes this.
Fresh Pa The Palestinian Authority Protests were taking place along the Gaza-Israel border Friday evening, a week after an Israeli soldier was shot dead.
One Palestinian was shot dead near Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, the health ministry in Gaza said.
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