Dozens arrested as clashes ensue in flashpoint site in Jerusalem

The Israeli police arrested 20 people, Palestinians and Jews, during clashes surrounding the flashpoint site of Temple Mount in east Jerusalem throughout Tuesday, a police spokesperson told Xinhua.

Out of those arrested, several were Palestinian teens from east Jerusalem suspected of throwing stones, as well as several Palestinian women who were taken-in for disorderly conduct.

Among those arrested is also a Jewish teen suspected of spraying tear gas at a Palestinian woman.

Several people were lightly injured in the clashes, including a tourist who was hit lightly by a stone in Mount Olives.

Clashes have taken place on nearly daily basis in the past three weeks, mainly between Palestinian protesters around Temple Mount, Jewish extremist activists and Israeli security forces.

Israeli security forces are on high alert in Jerusalem for a possible escalation in the clashes, with a Jewish religious ceremony set to take place in the Western Wall on Wednesday, and police boosted its deployment with hundreds of officers in the city, a police spokesperson told Xinhua.

Many Jewish worshippers planned to arrive at the Western Wall, at the foot of Temple Mount, to celebrate the "Priestly Blessing," a ritual performed by Jewish worshippers on the holiday of Sukkot (Tabernacles).

Israeli police imposed a ban on male Muslim worshippers under the age of 50 to pray at the site earlier this week, after footage showed on Sunday night Palestinian protesters stockpiled on firecrackers, firebombs and rocks amid the clashes at the al-Aqsa mosque.

Temple Mount, which is known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, is home to the al-Aqsa mosque, revered by Muslim worshippers, and the Western Wall, believed by Jews to be the remains of the Second Temple.

After Israel conquered east Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast War, Israel and Jordan reached the so-called "status quo" understanding, which have been incorporated into the 1994 peace treaty between the countries.

According to the understanding, Jews can visit Temple Mount but not pray there, and can pray at the Western Wall at the foothill of the Mount.

However, some extreme right-wing Jewish activists seek to change the situation, making provocative visits to the site, along with some Israeli right-wing politicians.

These visits further ignited the already flammable tensions, with Palestinians and Muslim worldwide worried Israel would try to take over the site and push out the Muslim population. Endit