JERUSALEM, July 26 (UPI) — Young Palestinian demonstrators — armed with rocks, flares and firebombs — clashed with Israeli police in Jerusalem Sunday, as Jewish faithful tried to commemorate a day of remembrance on the site where two ancient temples once stood.
The youths holed up inside the al-Aqsa Mosque overnight with the intention of preventing Jews from visiting Sunday. The historic site is hotly disputed between Palestinians and Jews — the former calling it the Noble Sanctuary, and the latter labeling it the Temple Mount.
Sunday marked the Tisha B’Av holiday, an annual fasting period in Judaism which commemorates the anniversary of several Jewish disasters — primarily the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, which are believed to have stood on the al-Aqsa site.
Israeli police intervened Sunday morning, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the masked protesters. Three were arrested.
Police cordoned off much of the area and fired sound bombs inside the complex to disperse the Palestinians, Al Jazeera reported Sunday. Authorities said they believed the demonstrators may have been planning riots.
“Masked rioters fled into the mosque and started to throw stones and blocks at police from inside al-Aqsa Mosque. They threw fireworks directly at police,” authorities said in a statement, which also stated that several police officers were injured in the clashes.
Al-Aqsa has long been a location beset by fighting. It is considered the most holy site in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam. Also because it is located in the hotly contested city of Jerusalem, the site is a frequent location for demonstrations.
Israel acquired Jerusalem in the Six-Day War between Israel and Syria, Jordan and Egypt. However, their annexation of the holy city is not officially recognized by some governments.
Tensions for Tisha B’Av escalated Saturday, when a woman visiting the site hurled insults at the Muslim prophet, Muhammad, the New York Times reported.
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