Israeli police clash with protesters at al-Aqsa

A Palestinian woman takes a picture as Israeli police walk in front of the Dome of the Rock during clashes with stone-throwing protesters. (Reuters)

By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News

Tuesday, 25 February 2014 

 

Israeli police used stun grenades to disperse Palestinian protesters at the sensitive al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City early on Tuesday.

The protesters had been throwing stones, according to an Israeli police spokesman speaking to Agence France-Presse.

Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP that there was "high tension" ahead of discussions expected in the Israeli parliament later Tuesday of a plan to annex the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
"Police remain deployed at the Temple Mount and visits by tourists are continuing," Rosenfeld said.

The al-Aqsa compound, which lies in Jerusalem's Old City, houses the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosques and is Islam's third-holiest site.

Israeli parliament will debate in the evening a bill introduced by MP Moshe Feiglin, a hardline member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, which envisages the "application of Israeli sovereignty" over the compound.

“No vote is envisaged at the end of debate. Netanyahu is opposed to the bill and commentators say it is unlikely to attract much support,” AFP reported.

The compound is also Judaism's holiest place, as it was the site of the first and second Jewish temples.

The site is in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem but administered by Muslim religious authorities.
(With AFP)

Last Update: Tuesday, 25 February 2014 KSA 10:46 - GMT 07:46