Israeli Police, Palestinians, Clash on Temple Mount

Story by the Associated Press; curated by Oliver Darcy.

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JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police say Palestinian demonstrators have clashed with police forces on Jerusalem's Temple Mount and that three policemen were lightly injured.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri says several dozen masked Palestinians began throwing rocks and fire crackers at police when the Temple Mount, which is known to Muslims as the "Noble Sanctuary," opened for prayers on Wednesday morning.

Thousands of Jews perform the Selichot prayer at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, backdropped by the Dome of the Rock mosque in the old city of Jerusalem late on September 23, 2014, in the lead up to Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. Clashes broke out at Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third holiest shrine, as Palestinians protested against members of Jewish faith visiting the flashpoint holy site, which is also sacred to the Jews and known to them as Temple Mount, on the eve of Jewish New Year, police said. (AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images)

There was no immediate information on Palestinian casualties.

The location is the holiest site in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam, and is a frequent flashpoint for demonstrations.

Tensions have been high in Jerusalem since Hamas militants abducted and killed three Jewish teenagers in the West Bank in June and Jewish extremists killed a young Palestinian several weeks later.

Those events helped precipitate the 50-day-long Gaza war this summer.

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