Sporadic clashes hit Jerusalem, West Bank

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri claimed the demonstrators had stockpiled petrol bombs, fireworks and stones to throw as missiles. By noon the site was quiet, police said.

The al-Aqsa Mosque is Islam’s third holiest site after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, Saudi Arabia.

Police have said in a statement they entered the mosque after worshipers were accused of planning for violence by stockpiling stones. He died following an accident in which his auto swerved into a pole. He died the following morning. At least 12 Palestinian protesters were injured byIsraeli forces during the Ramaballah riots, the Palestinian Maan news agency reported.

At the beginning of August, both Israeli and Palestinian communities were horrified by an arson attack in the West Bank that burned alive 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh, with his parents having died from their wounds days later.

On Friday, September 18, police barred Muslim men under 40 from the Mount in anticipation of unrest following Friday prayers.

The incident follows the death of a Palestinian man on Monday night, who, the Israeli army alleged, had died when an explosive device he had meant to throw detonated prematurely.

Furthermore, in the nearby village of Tuqu, a number of schoolchildren inhaled tear gas after Israelis opened fire at a pro-Aqsa demonstration. “They are being subjected to civil courts inside Israel, which is easier”, Ahmed Tibi, Arab member of the Israeli parliament, said.

Controversy over who can do what at the holy site has been festering for decades.

Amin Shouman, head of a Palestinian prisoners’ committee, said popular mobilization will continue in support of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestinians jailed by Israel. However many Muslims view these visits as a provocation. Under a longstanding arrangement, Jews are allowed to visit but not pray there.

Jewish activists have called for greater access, but the Israeli government has resisted the call so as not to upset the delicate balance at the site. “We will not allow them to do that”.

A campaign by a hardline Jewish minority to build a new temple at the site has further stoked suspicions among Palestinians.

Israel have been enforcing a unilateral temporal division on the mosque; banning Palestinians from entering the compound during specific hours, while settlers are provided with a police escort into the Islamic holy site. Harsher measures were approved last week with Israel’s response that would loosen the rules of engagement for police to respond to stone throwers.

The Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammed Hussein, condemned Israel’s actions against the protesters saying it will have “serious consequences”.

It was the second day in a row of violence at the site.