Roundup: Jerusalem holy site gripped by tension between Palestinians, Israelis

Clashes between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli visitors and police broke out Wednesday at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Jerusalem's holiest site for Muslims and Jews, amid the Jewish holiday of Passover.

The clashes were triggered by the increased numbers of Israeli visitors to the flashpoint site in East Jerusalem during the week-long Passover, including dozens of ultra-nationalist Jews who attempted to break a long-standing ban on Jewish prayers there.

On Wednesday, 233 Israelis visited the site, including seven who were arrested for violating the site's rules, a police statement said.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri told Xinhua that the seven tried to pray at the site in addition to committing other, unspecified, violations.

Police also detained for questioning three Muslim worshipers for trying to harass Jewish visitors, she said.

On Tuesday, Israeli police ejected nine Jewish visitors for similar violations and briefly detained two Palestinian Waqf guards stationed at the compound for "assaulting Jewish visitors," Samri said.

According to the Palestinian news agency Ma'an, the guards were attacked and arrested by the Israeli police.

On Monday, two Israeli visitors were detained after they bowed in pray at the site.

There were no reports of injuries.

Jordan, which oversees the holy compound, warned Israel on Monday of grave consequences of the violations.

"The storming of the yards of Al-Aqsa Mosque by the Israeli occupation forces and the settlers is a violation of international laws and conventions," Jordan's Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani was quoted as saying by state-run Petra news agency.

"Such practices will lead to serious consequences," the minister said.

The Jordanian official called on Israel to immediately stop such practices and prevent the settlers and Israeli forces from entering the yards of the mosque and allow the Palestinian worshipers to enter it.

The current round of clashes first erupted on Friday, the first day of Passover, as far-right Israeli activists attempted to climb the hill-top compound, carrying a baby goat for use in a sacrifice ritual. Police said they thwarted the plan and arrested seven activists for "disturbing the peace."

The activists are part of an ultra-nationalist movement known as "The Loyalists of the Temple Mount," which strives to rebuild the Jewish temples, that last of which was ruined by the Romans in 70 AD.

They have been pressuring the government to change the status quo, under which Israelis are allowed to visit the compound of the mosque but not to pray there. Also some ministers and lawmakers with the coalition have been calling for lifting the ban. Clashes erupt whenever Jewish visitors attempt to break the status quo.

The compound -- known to Muslims as Haram a-Sharif and to Jews as the Temple Mount -- is Islam's third most holy site and Judaism's holiest site.

It resides in East Jerusalem, a territory that was under Jordanian rule when Israel seized it during the 1967 Mideast War. Israel later annexed it, claiming it as part of its "undividable" capital, in a move never recognized by the international community.

However, due to the great sensitivity of the compound, it remained under the administration of the Jordanian Waqf, the custodian of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in East Jerusalem, a territory the Palestinians envisage as the capital of their future Palestinian state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly denied these claims, promising his country will keep the status quo.

Fears that Israel is attempting to change the status quo triggered violent clashes between Muslim youths and Israeli police in mid-September. The violence quickly evolved into a wave of stabbing, car-ramming, and shooting attacks in the West Bank and Israel.

While at least 200 Palestinians and 28 Israelis have been killed in the unrest, the calm at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif has been restored by a joint effort of Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian National Authority. Endit