Israeli security forces clashed with Palestinians for a second consecutive night, at a Jerusalem holy site during a convergence of Islamic and Jewish holidays.
A police spokeswoman on Thursday said groups of young Palestinians set off fireworks and threw stones at police officers on Wednesday night.
She said they tried to barricade themselves inside the al-Aqsa Mosque on the site known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.
Police said the young Palestinians were trying to prevent worshippers from leaving the mosque, but authorities eventually cleared the way.
Palestinian media reported that the police used batons, tear gas and rubber bullets to drive the worshippers out of the mosque. Several Palestinians were injured, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned “the continuation of brutal Israeli attacks on worshippers.” The incidents jeopardized efforts to bring peace and stability to the region, he added.
A night earlier, at least 40 people were injured in clashes at the site, according to first aid workers. According to the police, around 350 people were arrested.
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip once again fired a number of rockets at Israel. Warning sirens sounded in the border area early on Thursday morning, the Israeli military said.
Seven rockets exploded in the air, according to the military. Five of them were reportedly aimed at Israeli territory and two of them at the Mediterranean Sea.
The evening before, a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed on the Israeli side. No one was injured. As a rule, the Israeli military responds with a counterattack after such shelling.
Local media said Islamic Jihad forces claimed the rocket fire and that it was a reaction “to the events in Jerusalem.”
The Iranian-funded Palestinian organization is mainly active in the Gaza Strip and regularly launches rocket attacks on Israel from there.
The Noble Sanctuary, or al-Haram al-Sharif, is the third holiest site in Islam. To the Jews it is known as the Temple Mount, where both of Judaism’s ancient temples once stood.
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan is under way and Wednesday marked the beginning of the major Jewish holiday of Passover.
Muslims came to the Noble Sanctuary to pray during Ramadan. Jews meanwhile traditionally make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover.
The sensitive hilltop holy site is under Muslim administration, while Israel is responsible for security.
dpa/NAN
