Clashes between Israeli police, Palestinians rage in Jerusalem holy site

Clashes between Muslims and Israeli police continued Monday at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in East Jerusalem for the second consecutive day.

Dozens of police raided the site, holy to both Muslims and Jews, to prevent Palestinian youths from attacking far-right Jews who visited the holy compound on the occasion of the Jewish New Year.

"As the police entered the compound, masked youths fled inside the mosque and threw stones at the force," a police spokesperson said in a statement, adding that nine protesters were arrested.

Wadi Hilweh, a Palestinian-run information center in Jerusalem, reported that policemen entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque itself, attacking worshipers and protesters with stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets. There were conflicting reports about the number of injuries, with some reporting dozens of people wounded in the incident.

A similar raid took place on Sunday. Police spokeswoman said dozens of young Palestinian men were staying inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque overnight in order to harass Jewish visitors.

She said said the Palestinians stored stones, empty bottles and fireworks to prevent the police from closing the gate that leads to the mosque, adding that when the police came to close the gate, they threw stones at the police.

Al-Aqsa is the third holiest site for Islam and is located in the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount site, which Jews revered as the place of their biblical temple.

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has condemned the incident.

Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that Jerusalem's holy sites are "a red line that cannot be bypassed," PNA's officials news agency WAFA reported.

"We will not stand silent in the face of these attacks," he added.

Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will convene "an urgent meeting" with the defense and justice ministers to discuss stricter punishments for Palestinian stone-hurling youths.

On Sunday, Netanyahu released a statement stating his support for detention without bail until the end of legal proceedings for suspects charged with throwing stones on Israelis.

The statement followed a decision by Netanyahu's security cabinet in early September, to look into the engagement procedures against those who throw stones and firebombs and to determine heavier minimum sentences for such acts.

Much religious and political tension between Israel and Palestinians is focused around the holy compound, which frequently becomes a flashpoint for violence.

Tensions have been on the rise since Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon last week outlawed two Muslim groups that have been protesting against visits by Israeli Jews to the compound. Endit