| Israeli police broke into a controversial holy compound in Jerusalem on Sunday, after some Palestinians threw stones at visitors there.
About 15 Palestinian youths began throwing stones at tourists in the Temple Mount complex at 7:30 a.m. local time (0530 GMT) on Sunday, and 50 police officers entered immediately to arrest the Palestinians, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.
The Palestinians quickly took shelter in the al-Aqsa Mosque in the compound and barricaded themselves inside, said Rosenfeld.
Calm was quickly restored, and "about 1,000 visitors have visited the site since then," Rosenfeld told Xinhua.
Five protestors were arrested and there were no injuries on both sides, according to Rosenfeld. Yet local media reported that several Palestinians suffered from tear gas inhalation, and four police officers were lightly wounded during the clash.
The police did not seal off the area completely and the entrance of Muslim worshippers carrying Israeli identity cards has been restricted. Only men over the age of 50 and women are allowed into the site.
Disturbance continued at a neighborhood in East Jerusalem, where security forces dispersed dozens of youth throwing stones.
The incident came after demonstrations in Hebron last week over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to add two West Bank religious sites to an Israeli historic reservation project.
Israeli cabinet on Feb. 21 approved Netanyahu's National Heritage Plan, in which the Cave of the Patriarchs (known to Muslim as the Sanctuary of Abraham) in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb ( Bilal Mosque) in Bethlehem are among the 150 heritage sites to be restored.
The Israeli move triggered violence, which reached a high point on Thursday when hundreds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces in Hebron.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad visited the West Bank city on Friday and warned Israel of increased risk of violence in response to Israeli government's decision.
On Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces clamped a closure on the West Bank for the duration of Purim, an annual Jewish festival, so as to prevent collision between Jews and Muslims.
The Temple Mount, also known by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, is a religious site in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Considered as the holiest place in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam, the holy site has been a flashpoint of violence between Israelis and Muslims after it was captured by Israel together with all of East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War.
Israeli police and Arab protestors clashed at the Temple Mount compound in September, leaving nine officers and nearly 20 Palestinian worshippers injured.
In September 2000, Israel's then opposition leader Ariel Sharon, who later became prime minister, visited the Temple Mount compound under the escort of hundreds of police officers, which was believed to be an important cause of the Second Intifida, a period of intensified Israeli-Palestinian violence claiming thousands of lives. |
