JERUSALEM – Israeli police and Palestinian worshippers have clashed at aflashpoint Jerusalem holy site as overlapping Jewish and Muslim holidaysled to tensions there.
Separately on the Gaza border, a Palestinian shot at Israeli soldiers, whoreturned fire and killed him in the third such incident in recent days, thearmy and Hamas’s health ministry said.
In Jerusalem, police fired sound grenades as Palestinian protestsintensified at the highly sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jewsas the Temple Mount.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported 14 injured taken to hospitals.
Police said four officers were wounded as Palestinian protesters threwstones and other objects at security forces, who responded with what theycalled riot-dispersal means, without providing details.
Sunday marked the start of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday and thousands ofPalestinians prayed at the Al-Aqsa mosque.
It coincided with the Jewish Tisha B’av holiday, which typically sees anincrease in visits by Jewish religious nationalists to the holy site.
In a bid to ease tensions, police initially barred Jewish visits to thesite on Sunday but Muslim worshippers still feared they would be allowed inand protested there. The clashes with police broke out afterward.
After relative calm returned and following criticism from Israeli far-rightpoliticians, police then opened the site to Jewish visits, sparking anotherround of clashes.
Palestinian worshippers blocked from entering after the clashes gatheredoutside and chanted “Allahu Akbar!” (God is greatest) and “With my soul andmy blood, I will defend Al-Aqsa.”
“It’s our mosque, it’s our Eid,” said Assisa Abu Sneineh, 32, adding shewas there when the clashes erupted.
“All of a sudden (security forces) arrived and began to hit and fire soundgrenades.”
The compound, which includes the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock,is one of the most sensitive sites in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It is the third-holiest site in Islam and the most sacred for Jews, whorevere it as the location of the two biblical-era temples.
Tisha B’av commemorates the destruction of the two temples.
The site is located in east Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in the 1967Six-Day War and later annexed in a move never recognised by theinternational community.
Jews are allowed to visit but not pray there to avoid provoking tensions.
A potent symbol of Palestinian national identity, it is the scene ofregular clashes between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police.
Palestinians fear Israelis will seek to exert further control over the site.
Sunday’s incidents come only weeks ahead of Israel’s 17 Septemberelections, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is widely seen as wantingto maintain calm.
But he also faced pressure from Israeli far-right politicians who form partof his governing coalition to open the holy site to Jewish visits.
The separate incident on the Gaza border followed two similar ones sincethe start of the month.
On Saturday, the Israeli army said its troops shot dead four heavily armedPalestinians on the Gaza border, adding one had managed to cross and throwa grenade at soldiers.
Earlier on 1 August, a Palestinian seeking to avenge his brother’s death byIsraeli fire entered Israel from Gaza and opened fire on soldiers, the armysaid. -APP/AFP